A Russian photographer looking to snap some shots of an aurora that had appeared over his community managed to capture images of a rare form of the phenomenon in which it appears vertical. Valentin Zhiganov reportedly documented the remarkable sight during a particularly frigid evening that saw temperatures drop to a bone-rattling -22 degrees Fahrenheit in the city of Apatity.
According to Zhiganov, he'd initially planned to photograph some of his friends lounging in a hot tub with the aurora overhead, but his concept quickly changed when he noticed that the natural light show had a rather unique appearance. Rather than resembling swirling clouds of colorful illumination, he marveled, the aurora actually looked more like a series of light pillars.
Check out video from the amazing scene at the Coast to Coast AM website.