In the mountains at Krasnaya Polyana, skiers and snowboarders witnessed a rare atmospheric phenomenon. Pillars of light sparkled in the air, shimmering mysteriously.
- I am driving up the mountain and I see a light portal surrounded by a thousand crystals. I stop breathing from this beauty. They fly in the air, sparkle, and technology cannot convey even half of this magic,”wrote the snowboarder Ekaterina, who managed to capture the beauty on the southern slope of Rosa Khutor.
What is happening in the video is very similar to an optical phenomenon - a light column, as if it were ordinary light from a searchlight facing the sky.
- At the beginning of the video, the footage shows that the place from which the girl is shooting is well lit. And the shadow from the clouds begins already on the slope. We can assume that this is indeed a light (solar) pillar. Taking into account the fact that it is snowing there, such effects are possible, - says Andrey Bondar, deputy head of the Krasnodar regional hydrometeorological center, to Komsomolskaya Pravda - Kuban.
Most often, this phenomenon can be seen in winter at sub-zero temperatures, when many ice crystals are formed in the atmosphere that can reflect light rays. True, perfectly outlined pillars of the sun are not so frequent.
- It is snowing on Krasnaya Polyana now, which creates a re-reflection of light in the atmosphere. We see breaks in the clouds, the sun's rays breaking through them shine in a narrow beam of light. Thanks to this, we got such a luminous spot, but to see it is a miracle,”adds Andrey Bondar.
EVGENIYA SOROKA
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