Sundog With Tail
January 14, 2004
Provided by: Tim Coyne
Summary authors & editors: Jim Foster; Tim Coyne
The photo above of a glorious sundog with a vigorous tail was taken this past October at 4:30 p.m. local time, near Cleveland, Tennessee. Sundogs or parhelia are found on either side of the Sun at a distance of 22 degrees from the Sun -- about two fists held at arm's length. They result from refraction in ice crystals, in the shape of 6-sided plates, which are more or less horizontally-oriented. They're also the brightest and most common form of halo that originates in oriented crystals. The streak above and to the left of the "dog" is a contrail.
Photo was taken using a Sona Mavica 10x.
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