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.

Sun Photos

"Have you ever seen

anything

in your life

more wonderful

than the way the sun,

every evening,

relaxed and easy,

floats toward the horizon"

The Sun - Mary Oliver

Almost as fascinating as the Moon is the Sun. The Sun has been worshipped for thousands of years and has a rich history in human culture, including the ancient Egyptians associating it with their deity Ra, the Greeks associated it with their gods Helios and Apollo. In literature, Icarus is said to have attempted to fly to the Sun, but his wings melted. It goes on and on. Without the Sun, life as we know it would not exist. It is as essential as water.

I've always wanted to capture the splendor of the Sun. Well, now I got the chance. It seemed to be somewhat hazy tonight and created a wonderful effect with the Sun. Below are some of the photos I took of the Sun before it set tonight. They are taken with a Nikon D90, 70-300mm lens and 1.5x tele-converter. All of the photos are the originals and have not been edited in any way.