Anybody know what this is?

[Killdeer]

I have seen this phenomenon twice this year. I think I might have seen it YEARS ago, but am not sure. This effect is real, it is not in the camera. The pic has been cropped and resized, but that's about it. The column of sunlight appears just before daybreak.

 

So, does anybody know what to call it??
Killdeer  :confused:

[G]

I call it "awesome!"

Thanks for sharing.

[Mr.Vic]

When light beams interact with particles suspended in air, the energy can be scattered or absorbed. Energy that is scattered causes a change in direction of the light path. The amount of light that is being scattered is a function of the size of the particle relative to the wavelength of the light falling on the particle.   maybe a Crepuscular ray of somekind?

[IB]

Would it be a Sun Dog  :confused:   They Occur when it turns cold.

[Killdeer]

Nope. Sundogs are those mini-rainbow-shiny things close to the sun during the day. They will appear 180 degrees apart, when you see both of them to oncet. They are indications of moisture in the atmosphere that some say are predictive of rain.

Good try. I was SO hoping that I wouldn't have to attend the Jethro Bodine School of Amateur Meteorology, but if we don't come up with something plausible, I am going to have to resort to real research! I will start saving for my tuition.


Maybe it's a sign from God just to me, and I shouldn't have told anybody!!  :eek:  

Killdeer

[Killdeer]

Mr. Vic, no fair editing!

And it is crepuscular, no doubt about it! I hope the young'ns didn't see that!  

[Rob DiStefano]

There are MANY instances of light bending/reflecting within rarified air, and yer image is just one instance, Killy.  Ain't Momma Nature wonderful?

[Killdeer]

Wonderful, mysterious, glorious...
That's why we keep going out there instead of staying inside with our appliances.

(Thanks, Calvin and Hobbs!)
Killdeer

[Mr.Vic]

Sorry Killdeer, sometimes even a old dog has to backtrack.

[Steve Kendrot]

If you look closely, I think you can see the demolecularized shape of Captain Kirk being beamed up to the Enterprize, which must be just off the photo somewhere.... Maybe?

[Killdeer]