cross-posted from: https://science.social/notes/a4mw9sg5scfd01ke

Light Pillar over Erupting Etna

Can a lava flow extend into the sky? No, but light from the lava flow can. One effect is something quite unusual – a volcanic light pillar. More typically, light pillars are caused by sunlight and so appear as a bright column that extends upward above a rising or setting Sun. Alternatively, other light pillars – some quite colorful – have been recorded above street and house lights. This light pillar, though, was illuminated by the red light emitted by the glowing magma of an erupting volcano.

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