Sun Pillar, July 5, 2014

I didn't have much time for observing this summer, let alone going through any data and processing for web publishing, so now that I have a little more free time, I'm trying to go back and post some interesting observations from months ago. Bear with me, please.

On July 4, Bill, Javier, and I spent the night observing at Conway Observatory, tracking down the historic close conjunction of asteroids 1 Ceres and 4 Vesta, among other things. As morning twilight brightened the eastern sky, Bill and Javier left. I was finishing closing the observatory, and was also about to leave when I noticed a beam of pinkish-orange light jutting above the horizon, about where the Sun should rise. I stayed at the observatory nearly another hour documenting this rare sight through photos. It could still be seen even after sunrise, and was even visible for awhile when I was driving home. I found it interesting to watch as the intensity and color of the Sun pillar changed over time. Here are some of my photos.