Sunny Side Up

Last week’s temperatures left me shivering. As ate my breakfast I looked out my window and one of nature’s phenomena stared me right back in the face. An amazing sun dog appeared with this frigid morning sunrise. That got me thinking about all the different amazing phenomena the sun gives viewers like me and you. So here go this week’s sun peculiarities.

Sundogs Photo by Wayne Specht 

A sundog is one of the more common anomalies that we often see that happens when the sun and the atmosphere, or the moisture in it, join together to give us a spectacular view. Sundogs are patches of light that appear on each side of the sun. The scientific name for a sundog is parhelion, which means beside the sun. These patches of light follow the sun like a dog follows its master; hence the name. 

Sundogs from http://i.imgur.com/VAmTWZ8.jpg

Sundogs require several things to make their appearance. First, the sun must be low on the horizon for the best viewing. Next, a twenty-two degree distance from the sun is where the sundogs will appear. Hexagonal ice crystals in high and cold cirrus clouds, or very cold weather, is the next ingredient to get these guys out in the sky. The ice crystals act as prisms. They sink in the air and become vertically aligned with the sun, and then the refracted light becomes the sundogs we see. Folklore states that sundogs are an accurate forecast for precipitation. No matter what they predict, they are an amazing sight.

Sun Halo from http://d1jqu7g1y74ds1.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140302155740-4738cdad-580x387.jpg

A similar event to the sundog is the sun halo. It is, as stated, a halo that surrounds the sun. The halo surrounds the sun at twenty-two degrees, the same degree as the sundogs. This ring around the sun is considered to be a fairly rare happening and ice crystals are the culprits for the halo to appear. People, at times, thought a sun halo was a signal that the world was coming to an end. It too can be a predictor of precipitation.

Sun Pillar from http://images.summitpost.org/original/252408.jpg

A photometer, or sun pillar, is a luminous phenomenon that comes about by the refraction, reflection, diffraction, or interference of light from the sun. Usually seen at sunrise or sunset, the glittery and sometimes blinding white pillars extend to about twenty degrees above the sun and typically end in a point. If a pillar appears high in the sky the brightness is often subdued. Sun pillars also appear because of the ice crystals that are present in the air. A sun pillar can be present even when the sun is below the horizon. These pillars have been confused with UFO’s.

Sun Pillar from http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/254/e/c/ecef1cef57a885778edf49746727bdfc-d3c7ti2.jpg

Some other odd sun occurrences include the midnight sun phenomenon that happens towards our poles, the two sun optical illusion, and the well-known solar eclipse. There are many websites that offer a plethora of information, but beware because many offer bogus claims. Any way you look at it, each day the sun comes up, sun dogs or not, we are offered a new day and a new opportunity for learning. As I watch the sun rise, I will take my eggs the usual way; sunny-side-up.

 References:

Meteorological Phenomena: Sun Pillars. Retrieved February 6, 2015 from http://community.luckyshops.com/post/meteorological-phenomena-sun-pillars

Sun Halos: What Causes a Sun Halo? What Does This Rare Phenomenon Mean? Retrieved February 6, 2015 from http://weather.thefuntimesguide.com/2014/05/sun-halo.php

Zimmer, K. A., 2013. Sundogs: Spots of Color Beside the Sun. Live Science. Retrieved February 6, 2015 from http://www.livescience.com/26402-sundogs.html

If you like How Cool Is That?, then join me next time when we visit Jack Frost, or we track down who ever is to blame for my windows being frosted over.

If you would like to further discuss different sun phenomena or debate what is real or not real on the internet about sun oddities comment below or follow me on twitter at @pwheeler20.