Saturday, January 17, 2009

Daily Question 65

What is this natural phenomenon called? What causes it?



A sun dog or sundog (scientific name parhelion, plural parhelia, for "beside the sun") is a common bright circular spot on a solar halo. It is an atmospheric optical phenomenon primarily associated with the reflection or refraction of sunlight by small ice crystals making up cirrus or cirrostratus clouds. Often, two sun dogs can be seen (one on each side of the sun) simultaneously.

Cracked by Mathew

3 comments:

lordvoldemort said...

caused by diffraction?

--Ajay Parasuraman

Pergerine said...

is it st. elmos fire ?
St. Elmo's fire is an electrical weather phenomenon in which luminous plasma is created by a coronal discharge originating from a grounded object in an atmospheric electric field (such as those generated by thunderstorms or thunderstorms created by a volcanic explosion).

seanachai said...

sun dog.