Sundogs in the frozen wasteland

[rmack]

took a picture of these the other day, the two dogs on the outside looked like a pair of junior suns to the naked eye. picture taken just before noon.



 

[Chuck White]

That's a really good pic, we see them here once in a while!

[Red Good]

My old man used to say some really cold weather coming when we saw those .

[Ianab]

My old man used to say some really cold weather coming when we saw those .

Ice crystals high in the air I think, so that would fit in with the cold weather theory  ;)

Ian

[WildDog]

Interesting, nice pic. I can't recall ever hearing of Sundogs or even seeing them.

[Magicman]

I think that we don't have them in Mississippi.   ;D

[Autocar]

Ive seen them here in Ohio.

[rmack]

It did get quite cold the next day. I think the same holds true when you see a halo around the moon... cold weather coming.

[WmFritz]

That is a great photo. Funny though, at least for me... my natural instinct is to look away from the bright light.  :D

[rmack]

That is a great photo. Funny though, at least for me... my natural instinct is to look away from the bright light.  :D

what can I say... I'm a welder.

[mesquite buckeye]

When it gets really crazy, you can get a full ring with sun dogs on either side, then above and below, then a ring curving the opposite direction the same distance as from the sun to the main ring away from the ring.

Also can get a cross running from the sun to all the sun dogs and beyond them.

[Ianab]

A halo around the sun (or moon) is a similar effect, but the sun is higher, and shining down through a high layer of ice crystals. Sun dogs are when the sun is lower, and comes though a lower layer of crystals, so you only see the halo on each side of the sun.

So sun dogs are more common in the higher latitudes, where it's more likely to have that cold layer near the ground, and hence it's also a sign of cold weather.

In warmer climates you don't see them, just the halo from ice up at 30-40,000 ft. Where it might be -50C, even when it's a summer day on the ground.

Ian