January solar pillars in Sitges

* The author is part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
09 January 2024 Tuesday 21:52
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January solar pillars in Sitges

* The author is part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia

In La Vanguardia's Readers' Photos we can admire the solar pillar effect of the January sunset on the beach of Sitges, in the Garraf region.

A pillar light is an atmospheric optical phenomenon in which a vertical beam of light appears to extend above and/or below a light source.

The effect is created by the reflection of light from small ice crystals that are suspended in the atmosphere or that comprise high-altitude clouds (for example, cirrostratus or cirrus clouds).

If the light comes from the sun (generally when it is near or even below the horizon), the phenomenon is called a solar pillar, as in this case in Sitges.

The orange sky is due to arrebol, a meteorological phenomenon in which the clouds in the sky show a wide palette of colors ranging from pink to the deepest orange.