Runway Sundogs

A sunrise takeoff lead to a perfect view of these sundogs. Sundogs are caused by the refraction of light through ice crystals; essentially, they are ice particle reflections.

Sundogs only occur in rather cold temperatures; these are the result of -27C (-17F).

Greetings from the cold but spectacular north. 🙂

As Penny requested, I am re-posting this photo for the solstice. Happy December 21. 🙂 Please visit her site: http://icelandpenny.com/2021/12/15/300-metres/

13 thoughts on “Runway Sundogs”

  1. Great shot. Just wonderful. I love sun dogs. Fortunately, the surface temperature doesn’t have to be that cold … just the upper atmosphere where the ice crystals form. So I’ve been able to see them pretty often down here in Washington State.

    1. Thank you very much. Given how low the sun is at this time of year, the surface temperature does come into play, but yes, in more southern areas, you only need cold air aloft. And a clear sunny day of course. 🙂

    1. Thank you; I will! I have never seen sundogs in the east. They require cold temperatures and a windless, clear, unobstructed sky so that you can get a good view. I’ve frequently seen them on the prairies.

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