Why does nobody talk about that weird light pattern at the Grand Canyon overlook?

I was at Mather Point last Tuesday around 2pm and noticed this odd reflection bouncing off the canyon walls... like a pulsing beam that moved in a perfect circle for about 10 minutes. Three other people saw it too and we all just looked at each other confused. I checked my photos later and there's this faint white streak in 4 out of 12 shots that doesn't match any lens flare I've seen. Park ranger told me it was probably a drone but the pattern was way too steady and slow for that. Has anyone else caught something similar out there or am I just seeing things?

3 comments

3 Comments

ellis.rose2mo ago

Heard a podcast once about underground water reflecting sunlight in the canyon.

hugo_craig2mo ago

Underground water reflecting sunlight, that's a wild one. Sounds like something you'd hear on a late night show after a few beers. I've been out to the canyon a couple times and never saw anything like that, but who knows what's really going on down there. Geology is full of weird tricks like that, makes you wonder what else we haven't figured out yet.

fiona_clark2mo ago

Hugo you're basically describing my morning routine minus the canyon. I swear sometimes my bathroom mirror catches the sunrise just right and I look like I'm glowing. Though that's probably just the toothpaste foam. Geology does have some wild tricks though. I remember reading that some cave systems can create these light shows with underground pools and crystals. Makes me want to go back and stare at rocks until I see something that's not just, you know, rocks.