Sun pillars for the win

Focused light
London, ON
December 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

At the exact moment the sun slips below the horizon, it shines a single pillar of light high into the fiery sky.

I believe it’s called a sun pillar, where light reflects off of clouds in the upper atmosphere. And as much as science can explain the light show playing out in front of me, I’d rather imagine there’s a little bit of magic involved, as well.

Because how else can we explain that tingly feeling we get down our spines - or the butterflies we feel in our stomachs?

I guess the answer lies somewhere in the fact that seeing and understanding aren’t quite the same as feeling. That a scientifically explainable phenomenon in the sky doesn’t amount to much until we layer a healthy dose of human emotion on top of it.

Which explains why we stand at the edge of day and night and look for things that might make us feel something.

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