On the night of December 31st, pillars of light of different colors sparkled in the Winnipeg sky. This quite spectacular phenomenon occurs under “unique conditions,” points out Jacques Bourgeois, director of communications and marketing at Marais Oak Hammock in Manitoba.
A luminous column is a type of column of light that appears to rise from a luminous point, specifies the scientific popularizer. The city of Winnipeg lights were the light source for the pillars seen on New Year's Eve.
For these columns of light to form, “you need a cold temperature, but also a saturated atmosphere in which the water forms into ice crystals rather than snowflakes,” adds Mr. Bourgeois. The weather also needs to be very calm and windless so that these crystals do not move.
“It is the light that reflects on these small crystals and makes us appear to be a kind of great beam of light rising to the sky. »
– A quote from Jacques Bourgeois, Director of Communications and Marketing at Marais Oak Hammock in Manitoba
Jacques Bourgeois mentions that although this phenomenon is best observed from outside the city, those who are in the city can also see it.
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