Modern Mysteries

Strange, eerie pillars of light appear in the skies over Japan

By T.K. Randall
May 23, 2024 ·  5 comments

The spectacle was certainly impressive. Image Credit: Twitter / @maashii_taiy Residents of Japan's Tottori prefecture earlier this month were treated to a rare and impressive phenomenon when peculiar vertical pillars of light appeared in the clouds high above.

When photographs and video clips started to appear on social media, many users speculated that the light beams could be a sign of alien visitors or some sort of secretive military testing.

In truth, however, there did happen to be a conventional explanation for the spectacle.One clue is the fact that the lights appeared above the sea and there happened to be a lot of fishing boat activity at the time that they were visible.

Known locally as 'Isaribi Kochu', these eerie light pillars occur when ice crystals which form during specific atmospheric conditions interact with the bright lights used by fishermen to attract fish at night.

While it is an established phenomenon, it doesn't occur all that often so is still quite unusual to see.

Light pillars are an atmospheric optical phenomenon in which vertical beams of light appear to extend above and/or below a light source. Sometimes they even appear as detached from the source.

These ones were spotted over Daisen, a coastal town in Japan. pic.twitter.com/Hyhbf0tte6

- Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) May 20, 2024

Source: Metro.co.uk | Comments (5)

Tags: Japan