Beam me up: Scientists left baffled as mysterious columns of coloured light appear in the night skies

By Mail Foreign ServiceLast updated at 11:29 AM on 15th January 2009

These stunning images show mysterious columns of light streaming into the sky above the town of Sigulda in Latvia at the end of last month.

Taken by designer Aigar Truhins with a standard digital camera, the photographs have prompted excited online discussions among amateur astronomists all over the internet.

'My son exclaimed, 'The aliens are coming!'' Truhins was quoted as saying.

Beam me up: Mysterious columns of light stream into the air above the town of Sigulda

The mysterious lights prompted excited discussion on the internet

'It certainly looked that way,' he added.

But experts are agreed there may be a more prosaic explanation - ice crystals in the air.

The air above the town was notably cold and filled with suspended ice crystals.

 It is believed that the columns were formed by those reflecting light from the bright streetlamps and other lights on the ground - beaming it back downwards again.

Skies all over Europe have been filled with such natural phenomena during the cold snap of recent weeks.

But finally the experts agreed on one explanation...

The lights were said to be a reflection caused by the light from streetlamps on the ground hitting ice crystals suspended in the cold air

Scientists at the website spaceweather.com said: 'Truhin’s pillars are not the ordinary kind. Even eading experts in atmospheric optics can’t quite figure them out

'These pillars are mysterious. They have unexplained curved tops and even curved arcs coming from their base.

'Arcs in rare displays like these could be from column crystals to give parts of tangent arcs, others could be the enigmatic Moilanan arc or even the recently discovered reflected Parry arc.

'We do not know – so take more photos on cold nights!'

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below?

When the experts think they know it all, Nature will prove, once again, that she is way ahead and nobody will ever be able to predict what is going to happen. Looks really good, wish we had them here to cheer up a bit. All we have is an out of date and out of order government!

- Nigel, Somerset, 15/1/2009 13:28

Quite obvious it is caused by the street lamps.
Now show us some similar effects in open country where there are no lights whatsoever

- Phil, Perthshire, 15/1/2009 13:25

If you look at the colour of the light plumes in the pictures they reflect the colour of whatever they are in line with, the green light is reflected from the green of the trees, the white or orange from the street lights etc, etc. they appear somewhat paler but it is definitely from refraction, reflection just like rainbows.