Light pillar spotted over Mount Etna

There was a beautiful and rare spectacular event at Italy’s Mt. Etna last week: a light pillar above the erupting volcano’s crater.

Usually, light pillars appear just after sunset or just before sunrise, however, this incredible sight was made visible by the reflection of the flowing magma in the volcano against ice crystals in the cirrus clouds high above the Sicilian caldera.

Mt. Etna has been erupting regularly this year. It is located in eastern Sicily near the city of Catania that is home to over 300,000 people. Mt. Etna itself is over 10,000 feet high and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.