Beam me up

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

These stunning images show mysterious columns of light streaming into the sky above the town of Sigulda in Latvia at the end of last month.

Taken by designer Aigar Truhins with a standard digital camera, the photographs have prompted excited online discussions among amateur astronomists all over the internet.

'My son exclaimed, 'The aliens are coming!'' Truhins was quoted

'It certainly looked that way,' he added.

But experts are agreed there may be a more prosaic explanation - ice crystals in the air.

The air above the town was notably cold and filled with suspended ice crystals.

It is believed that the columns were formed by those reflecting light from the bright streetlamps and other lights on the ground - beaming it back downwards again.

Skies all over Europe have been filled with such natural phenomena during the cold snap of recent weeks.

Scientists at the website spaceweather.com said: 'Truhin’s pillars are not the ordinary kind. Even eading experts in atmospheric optics can’t quite figure them out

'These pillars are mysterious. They have unexplained curved tops and even curved arcs coming from their base.

'Arcs in rare displays like these could be from column crystals to give parts of tangent arcs, others could be the enigmatic Moilanan arc or even the recently discovered reflected Parry arc.

'We do not know – so take more photos

[Msterbeau]

Purdy!!

[Head Wreck]

re,inds me of the rapture in evangelion

[Simon Bar Sinister]

But experts are agreed there may be a more prosaic explanation - ice crystals in the air.

My 1st guess as well.

[TomCat]

It's still pretty neat-o.

[Simon Bar Sinister]

yes it is; I wish it would happen here once in a while.

[TomCat]

yes it is; I wish it would happen here once in a while.

Ditto...but that would mean you like it this cold, or even colder?

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

Actually, it does. I have some pics of the old refinery lights doing that somewhere and yes, it was fuck all cold that night. If I can find them I will scan them in. I thought I had at one point and posted them... but I dont find them on my PC.

[Rev.Reverence]

..cool shit!

[TomCat]

Actually, it does. I have some pics of the old refinery lights doing that somewhere and yes, it was fuck all cold that night. If I can find them I will scan them in. I thought I had at one point and posted them... but I dont find them on my PC.

Sweet, I look forward to seeing them.

I used to have oodles of Northern Lights photos from when I lived in Houghton, MI. Unfortunately my [b]exwhoreofaslutbageskeezedemonshebitch destroyed them while we were going through our divorce.

bitch

[Homicidalheathen]

looks similar to northern lights...very pretty!

[torn asunder]

i've seen that type of thing several times here in k'zoo, except they didn't have the "open end" at the top. it's not all that uncommon...

[Destroit]

Damn...I got momentarily excited, for a minute there I thought they were actually coming to finally bring back Tupac.

[Troy Spiral (13)]

Must be some supernatural, god-like thing. No reasonable explanation could be possible.

[Nightgaunt]

I think it's pretty obvious that these are atomic laser mind-control holograms emitted by the HAARP project to condition us to accept the United Nations' plan to ruin our feet.

Duh.

[Scales]

Radical.