Sundogs

Hi there,

Sundogs - Parhelia - Mock Suns, whatever you may call them, are among the most frequent of Sun halos. Formed by plate crystals, you will find them on either side of the sun, almost diametrically opposite on the 22° halo.

They form high up in the atmosphere where ice is all too common, by refracting the Sun's light - red (longer wavelength, less energy) is less refracted than blue (high energy, shorter wavelength - reason for which UVs are bad, because of the high energy, but that's another story). You will see reddish colours on the inner side of the halo, and if you're lucky some greens and blues on the outside.

Best seen when the Sun is low, they are common occurrences and if looked for, one will see on average about twice a week.

For *real* scientific info check here: atoptics.co.uk

Enjoy.

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Nice. Were you in an aeroplane or up a tall mountain? I'm guessing the flare on the right is window glare, suggesting the former.

Indeed, it's through the glass and plastic of an airplane window, thus the nasty reflections.