Sun dog

This is not my first attempt to capture a sun dog though I think this is one of my better ones. Saturday's blizzard died down at just the right time and it made for and incredible sunset. The wind was quite strong during the capture of this image.

|| Sundogs, or parhelion, are made commonly of plate-shaped hexagonal ice crystals in high and cold cirrus clouds or, during very cold weather, by ice crystals drifting in the air at low levels. These crystals act as prisms, bending the light rays passing through them. If the crystals are randomly oriented, a complete ring around the sun is seen. But often, as the crystals sink through the air they become vertically aligned, so sunlight is refracted horizontally — in this case, sundogs are…

This picture of a 'sun dog' was taken in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy by NASA solar physicist David Hathaway in Huntsville, Alabama two days ago.

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Shop for nature wall art from the world's greatest living artists and iconic brands. The beauty of nature abounds all around us. Even those who live in urban jungles can find examples in their everyday lives through radiant sunsets, bountiful gardens, and various landscapes. Whether you love images of animals in their native habitats, seascapes, or the human form in all of its unbound glory, our selection of natural art has something for everybody.

Ski resorts are the best places to see fine halo displays, like this one. Why so beautiful and why so sparkly? Details here.

Rare optical phenomena known as high altitude solar halos. ~Photo by Steve Gettle

Sundogs, also called “mock suns” or “parahelia” (Greek for “beside the sun”), appear as one or two patches of light on either or both sides of the sun. Sundogs g…

Last Wednesday in Stockholm, Sweden, the sun was only up for a little while, but it made good use of its time. Sunbeams lanced through ice crystals in the air, producing a busy halo of surpassing beauty: "This was the most spectacular sun halo I...