Understanding the phenomenon of pillars of light in Winnipeg's night sky

Shafts of light of different colors sparkled in the Winnipeg sky on the night of December 31. This amazing phenomenon occurs under “unique circumstances,” confirms Jacques Bourgeois, director of communications and marketing at Marais Oak Hammock in Manitoba.

A light pillar is a type of column of light that appears to rise from a point of light, indicates the scientific famous. Winnipeg city lights were the light source for the columns seen on New Year's Eve.

For these pillars of light to form, you need “a cold temperature, but also a saturated atmosphere where the water forms as ice crystals rather than snowflakes,” Mr. Bourgeois adds. The weather must also be very calm, without wind, so that these crystals do not move.

” It is the light that will reflect on these small crystals, which will make us appear as a kind of large jet of light rising towards the sky. »

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Jacques Bourgeois, director of communications and marketing at Marais Oak Hammock in Manitoba

Jacques Bourgeois states that although this phenomenon is best observed from outside the city, those in the city can see it as well.

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