APOD: 2026 March 23 – Light Pillars and Orion over Mohe
Discover the cosmos!
Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2026 March 23
Light Pillars and Orion over Mohe
Image Credit & Copyright:
Jeff Dai
(TWAN)
Explanation:
What’s happening at the end of that street?
Pictured here are not
auroras but
light pillars, a phenomenon typically much closer.
In most places on
Earth, a lucky viewer can see a
Sun pillar,
a column of light appearing to extend up from the
Sun
caused by flat fluttering
ice-crystals reflecting sunlight from the
upper atmosphere.
Usually, these ice
crystals
evaporate before reaching the ground.
During freezing temperatures, however,
flat
fluttering
ice crystals may form near the ground and are sometimes known as a
crystal fog.
These small ice crystals may then reflect not the Sun but
ground lights.
The featured image captured not only
numerous light pillars but also the iconic
constellation of Orion, and was taken in
Mohe, the northernmost city in
China.
Tomorrow’s picture: lumpy Earth
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Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn
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