‘Alien’ light beams seen along US-Canada border linked to extreme cold, experts say

Eerie beams of light are appearing at night along both sides of the U.S.-Canada border, and it didn’t take long for “UFO abduction rays” and “aliens beaming down” to enter the online discussion.

In some places, the colorful beams have appeared to be firing up from the ground, photos show. In others, they seemed to be floating, connected to neither sky nor ground.

What is causing them?

They’re light pillars, according to the National Weather Service, and they materialize when temperatures near single digits and the air is full of ice.

“These pillars typically occur on cold, winter mornings when the temperatures are colder than 10°F. On these mornings, plate-shaped ice crystals, normally only present in high clouds, float in the air close to the ground and their horizontal facets reflect light back downwards,” the National Weather Service reports.

”The pillars are not physically over the lights or anywhere else in space for that matter. ... They are purely the collected light beams from all the millions of crystals which just happen to be reflecting light toward your eyes or camera.”

Light pillars have been photographed in multiple states in recent weeks, including Washington, Alaska, Nebraska, North Dakota and Oregon, and several cities in Canada.

Witnesses have noted the pillars seem to be brighter and taller than in years past, which might be a result of the extreme cold.

Chrischal Lyon of Delta Junction, Alaska, has shared multiple photos on the “My Home is Alaska” Facebook page, where they have gotten nearly 8,000 reactions and comments as of Dec. 27. (The Facebook group has 6,000 followers.)

She has lived in Alaska more than 40 years and says light pillars can be common during winters, but they are no less stunning to the locals.

“They are beautiful. The air is very still and the only sound is the ‘twinkle’ of ice-crystals in the air,” she told McClatchy News.

“As strange as it sounds, you can hear the crystals in the air. Alaska is a magical place and this is just one more aspect to the magic.”

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