What are light pillars? The strange phenomena captured over Glasgow this week

Mysterious pillars of light appeared over the southside of the city, but what were they?

Mysterious pillars of light were spotted over Glasgow this week, prompting many to question if aliens were involved.

Steph Nixon shared a spectacular snap on Twitter of the bizarre lights, which he captured above his home in Croftfoot in the southside of Glasgow.

Appearing like something from the ‘War of the Worlds’, the strange phenomena baffled users of the social media site, with many suspecting UFOs were involved or claiming that the Rapture was upon us.

To be honest, with how badly 2020 went down, we wouldn’t be surprised if either point was true.

However, the answer seems to be a little more prosaic with the culprit more than likely being a natural phenomena known as light columns.

The rare meteorological event usually happens in freezing conditions and causes an optical illusion where by a vertical beam of light appears to extend above a light source.

According to the experts, it’s caused by the reflection of light from tiny ice crystals that are captured in the atmosphere.

 

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