Splendid Sundog over Montreal, Canada
January 24, 2023
Photographer: Raymond Murphy
Summary Author: Raymond Murphy; Jim Foster
Featured above is a colorful, right sundog (parhelion) as observed from near Montreal, Quebec on the morning of November 26, 2022. You can tell it’s on the right side of the Sun because with halos the red color is nearest the solar disk, unlike with rainbows. Sundogs are one of the most commonly observed optical phenomena. Look for them some 22-degrees away from the Sun, at the same solar altitude, whenever cirrus clouds (composed of ice crystals) are in the sky. Note that the puffy cloud in the foreground is a cumulus type cloud -- composed of water droplets. The "tail" of this sundog is actually a portion of the parhelic circle. Always be careful when looking anywhere in the vicinity of the Sun.
West Montreal, Quebec, Canada Coordinates: 45.4515, -73.6334
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