Sundog Days of Winter

"Dazzle mine eyes, or do I see three suns?"

Shakespeare - Henry VI, Part 3

The word sun dog (or sundog) originates from the Greek word parēlion, meaning "beside the sun". The scientific name is parhelion, plural parhelia. It's essentially a phenomenon in the atmosphere formed by plate shaped hexagonal ice crystals (in high and cold cirrus clouds) that create bright spots of light, often a luminous ring (or halo), on either side of the Sun. The ice crystals are called diamond dust and drift in the air at a low level. Sundogs orrur when the Sun is at a 45 degree angle and is at its lowest point. Sundogs may appear as a colored patch of light, typically displaying the colors of the rainbow (red closest to the Sun, with orange then blue farthest out) to the left or right of the sun at the same distance above the horizon as the sun. They can be seen anywhere in the world during any season, but they are not always obvious or bright. Here in Canada, they are most prevalent during the winter months when the air is coldest and more ice crystals are in the sky.

Below is the first-ever photo of a sundog taken be myself in January 2010.