VERTICAL RAINBOW COLUMNS — A REAL ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENON What you’re seeing are light pillars — a documented optical phenomenon that occurs when sunlight reflects off millions of tiny, flat ice crystals suspended in cold air near the ground. These crystals act like microscopic mirrors. When they are horizontally aligned, they reflect light straight upward, creating tall, luminous columns. Why the colors appear: Sunlight is slightly dispersed as it reflects, separating into faint spectral tones T