Chanos-Curson 2013, PANs and sun pillars at sunset

Summary

On August 29, 2013, a driver in Drôme noticed two luminous phenomena near the setting sun. He stopped to photograph them, capturing five useful images. The witness's account is clear and detailed. Investigators concluded it was a sun pillar, an optical phenomenon caused by the refraction of sunlight through ice crystals. The low position of the sun and the presence of favorable clouds support this explanation. Despite its unusual appearance, the observed objects have a natural and verifiable explanation.