Weird Spot

[K9Kirk]

Just before sunset while waiting for some clouds to break for some good light on some baby owls, I turned in the direction of the sun to see how much longer a wait and I noticed this weird spot in the sky. It had the colors of a rainbow but there was no arch like you would normally see, just that rainbow like spot. I thought it was interesting, I'd never seen that before, thought I would share. I didn't have my wide-angle lens with me, just my tele-zoom for the owls. Thanks for looking.

045-studio by Kirk Behymer, on Flickr

 

[bleirer]

Sun dog I think

 

[K9Kirk]

Sun dog I think

Ah! Never heard of them. I just looked them up and that's what it appears to be. Cool!

 

[Larry S.]

Beautiful! I have never seen anything like this…. Is it a rainbow type?

 

[bleirer]

Sioux Sun Dog

Shot over the Mississippi River at Portage Des Sioux. A Sun Dog is an optical phenomenon that presents usually at 22 degrees from the setting Sun. It appears either on one one or both sides of the Sun, and is caused by ice crystals in the atmosphere that refract the Sunlight causing the bright...

bcgforums.com

 

[Callie]

Kirk -very nice! Love it! I have shot the same thing twice. Here is an article on it.

What Causes Rainbow Colors in Clouds?

Explore what causes rainbow colors in clouds, and what type of cloud you're looking at when you see this. It could be one of four phenomenons.

www.thoughtco.com

I have also shot a sundog but it appears as a totally different phenomenon.

 

[K9Kirk]

Beautiful! I have never seen anything like this…. Is it a rainbow type?

Thanks! From what I've read, it basically has to do with the sunlight hitting ice crystals in the sky. Here's a good article that explains them well. If it is in fact a sundog.

What are sundogs and how do they form?

Have you ever taken a walk on a winter's day to find the sun flanked by two bright companions?

www.space.com

 

[K9Kirk]

Kirk -very nice! Love it! I have shot the same thing twice. Here is an article on it.

What Causes Rainbow Colors in Clouds?

Explore what causes rainbow colors in clouds, and what type of cloud you're looking at when you see this. It could be one of four phenomenons.

www.thoughtco.com

I have also shot a sundog but it appears as a totally different phenomenon.

Thanks, Callie. I'll have to read that article, also. Don't want to be calling it a sundog when it might be a sunkitty.

 

[Callie]

Thanks, Callie. I'll have to read that article, also. Don't want to be calling it a sundog when it might be a sunkitty.

Kirk, having read the above, and looking at my sundog image, it seems it is the rainbow colors more than circle round the sun which I understood was the sundog. But I have posted it today under Landscapes.

 

[K9Kirk]

Kirk, having read the above, and looking at my sundog image, it seems it is the rainbow colors more than circle round the sun which I understood was the sundog. But I have posted it today under Landscapes.

I would think so myself. Sometimes all you see is one rainbow spot to one side of the sun and nothing else.

 

[StarTracker50]

Its a Sun Dog. See my post describing how it happens.

 

[bleirer]

We can debate common names and say this is and thus isnt. Seems this might not be one, but not sure. Science tries to pin it down, another good article here.

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skyandtelescope.org

Sundogs: mock suns or parhelia

ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu

What Is a Sun Dog?

Learn what a sun dog is, how one forms, where to see one, and whether a parhelion means anything. Also learn about moon dogs.

sciencenotes.org