© Ruben, Reader PhotoLight pillar over Gatineau Park early Tuesday morning.
People across Ottawa and up into Gatineau Park reported seeing beams of light shooting straight up from the ground about 6 a.m., and some said the effect was like hundreds of searchlights.
Geoff Coulson, a meteorologist from Environment Canada, says there was nothing unusual about the lights. The unusual part was the atmosphere.
The phenomenon is known as a trumpet pillar, because it often shows up as a tall column that widens at the top, like the mouth of a trumpet. It happens most often in clear, cold air, because that's when ice crystals form and hang in the air, close to the ground. Under some conditions, ice crystals can also cause us to see a ring around the moon.
Coulson said the sight is most noticeable when the light comes from an isolated source in an otherwise dark area.
The effect can also vary with different shapes of ice crystal.
at the picture and by quoting Coulson that said that the sight is more noticeable if the light comes from an isolated source in an otherwise dark area I don't think we have to point out the obvious once again.