No that wasn’t an alien spaceship beaming down to earth.
It was a light pillar.
The optical illusion which seems to shoot beams of light into the night sky is caused by ice crystals that form in the air, acting as a mirror to reflect lights below.
The ground light sources are often street lights, however the bright lights of Mosaic Stadium provided the most prominent light pillar Saturday night in Regina.
Residents around the city took incredible photos.
Global Weather anchor Carla Bosacki says, “when light pillars are shining, people are often perplexed by what they are seeing. From the ground it looks like they are shooting hundreds of feet into the air when in reality they are shining miles high into the atmosphere.”
This illusion is not uncommon in cold weather climates.
The prairies provide perfect conditions for light pillars with snow, minimal wind and frigid temperatures.