50 thoughts on “Sundogs”

    1. Thank you very much, Steve. I’ve seen many on the prairies where they’re much easier to spot. They’re a lot more difficult in mountainous or hilly areas although they can occur anywhere where it’s cold enough to produce an ice crystal cloud.

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    1. Thank you very much, Linda. Although they can occur anywhere, they’re much more commonly seen on the prairies where they’re easier to spot because it’s flatter but also because weather systems there can become so cold and still. This one was produced by the recent cold snap. Cheers.

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    1. Thank you very much, Allan.
      Agreed – a sundog like this one might have really scared ancient peoples. It was a result of the recent cold snap, so yes, beautiful, but you know it’s going to get chilly!

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    1. They need cold conditions – a stable, translucent cloud full of ice crystals – for development and the prairies produce a lot of that type of weather. They’re beautiful but not the weather that follows.

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  12. Very nice, Lynette!
    I especially like the upper tangent arc. I’ve only seen one before, and that was in Olympia coming home from grocery shopping. (me, not the arc) Fortunately, it stayed long enough for me to go inside and get my camera!

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    1. Thank you very much, Allan.
      This is the best one I’ve seen. It’s a perfect formation with the vertical sun pillar, horizontal parhelic circle and as you noted, the tangent arc. I sometimes feel like I should walk around with my camera attached somewhere! I took this with my cell and had to remove a sun flare. Cheers.

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    1. They’re not especially rare; they can occur at any time or location as long as the atmosphere is moist and cold enough to make ice crystals so that the sunlight can refract off them. They’re much easier to see if you’re in a flatter location such as the prairies. Mountains or hills can obscure them. This one is special though. It’s a rather perfect example of this phenomenon and the best one I’ve seen. Cheers.

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