Have you ever looked at the sky and noticed spots of color on one or both sides of the sun? Points of light that looked like little rainbows? If so, you’ve probably seen a sun dog, also known as faux sun or parhelia, which means “with the sun.”
These optical illusions are created by the refraction of sunlight by ice crystals in the atmosphere.
In order for a sun dog to form, there must be hexagonal ice crystals in the air floating parallel to the ground. The sunlight will break through the ice crystal, which then acts like a prism to spread and bend the colors.
Because of the different wavelengths that correlate with the colors of the rainbow, the colors typically go from red (closest to the sun) to blue (outer edges) and you can usually find the sundog spots at about 22 degrees to the left or right (or in both) . directions) from the center of the sun.
The best time to try to see a sundog is when there are cirrus clouds in the sky and around sunrise or sunset.
Furthermore, this weather phenomenon is more likely to occur during the cold winter months. If you ever see a sun dog in the sky, take a photo and send it to your First Alert Weather team.
