March 23, 2026
Somewhere above you, light is arriving from places so distant their names feel like poetry.
Light Pillars and Orion over Mohe
Birthday · March 23, 2026
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APOD published March 23, 2026. Credit: Jeff Dai (TWAN). A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
What's happening at the end of that street? Pictured here are not auroras but light pillars, a phenomenon typically much closer. In most places on Earth, a lucky viewer can see a Sun pillar, a column of light appearing to extend up from the Sun caused by flat fluttering ice-crystals reflecting sunlight from the upper atmosphere. Usually, these ice crystals evaporate before reaching the ground. During freezing temperatures, however, flat fluttering ice crystals may form near the ground and are sometimes known as a crystal fog. These small ice crystals may then reflect not the Sun but ground lights. The featured image captured not only numerous light pillars but also the iconic constellation of Orion, and was taken in Mohe, the northernmost city in China.
Image credit: Jeff Dai (TWAN)