Natural Phenomena : Parhelion/sundogs
A sun dog (or sundog) or mock sun, formally called a parhelion (plural parhelia) in meteorology, is an atmospheric optical phenomenon that consists of a bright spot to one or both sides of the Sun. Two sun dogs often flank the Sun within a 22° halo. Patches of light that sometimes appear beside the sun are called sundogs. The scientific name is parhelion (plural: parhelia) from the Greek parēlion, meaning "beside the sun." Speculation is that they are called that because they follow the sun like a dog follows its master. Sundogs (or sun dogs) are also referred to as mock suns or phantom suns. Sundogs often appear as colored areas of light to the left or right of the sun, 22 degrees distant and at the same distance above the horizon as the sun. They are frequently observed on a ring or halo around the sun. There are also moon dogs that appear alongside the moon and are formed by lunar light passing thro...