What is a Sun Dog?

Sun dog close up 

Yesterday we blogged about cirrus clouds, and today we're going to explain sun dogs,

because they're caused by cirrus clouds! 

WHAT ARE SUN DOGS? Sun dogs are basically reflections of the sun on ice crystal clouds or cirrus clouds. Sun dogs can appear to look like a second sun.ntal system or a tropical cyclone. They are composed of ice and are thin, wispy cloud, blown in high winds into long streamers.

2 Sun dogs

A PATCH OF SUNLIGHT 22 DEGREES LEFT OR RIGHT OF THE SUN - Sky and Telescope says: A sundog is a concentrated patch of sunlight occasionally seen about 22° to the left or right of the Sun. Sundogs often form in pairs on either side of our daytime star when sunlight refracts through icy clouds containing hexagonal platecrystals aligned with their large, flat faces parallel to the ground. Technically known as parhelia (singular parhelion) they are often white but sometimes quite colorful, looking like detached pieces of rainbow, with red on the inside, toward the Sun, and blue on the outside.