This pillar of light was seen from Dronley in Angus. (click right arrow for more)
Tayside and Fife saw some spectacular sunsets over the weekend with one feature in particular catching the attention.
A “pillar of light” featured prominently in the vivid colours sparking debate among weather watchers.
Enthusiast Roderick Stewart from Dronley in Angus explained: “These pillars appear in clear, cold weather when ice crystals form into small hexagonal plates which float roughly horizontally in the atmosphere, in the same way that a sheet of paper will flutter to the ground in a series of flat swoops.Click here for a full photo gallery“The average of countless tiny horizontal ice-mirror reflections above the sunset creates these beautiful pillars of light.
“Sunset and sunrise are of particular value to seafarers as the sun’s true bearing can be calculated and used to check compass accuracy.Post by TheCourier.co.uk.“The tables to make this possible and the resultant compass correcting magnets were developed in the decades around the time Dundee’s preserved frigate HMS Unicorn was being built in 1822 to 1824.”
