Light Pillars Over Inner Mongolia

Explanation: What's happening across that field? Pictured here are not auroras but nearby 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 crystal s evaporate before reaching the ground. During freezing temperatures, however, flat fluttering ice crystals may form near the ground in a form of light snow sometimes known as a crystal fog . These ice crystals may then reflect ground lights in columns not unlike a Sun pillar . The featured image was taken last month across the Wulan Butong Grasslands in Inner Mongolia , China .