High Sundog and Parhelic Circle Fragment


With the sun at an altitude of 38 degrees this sundog is noticeably splayed outwards. (Sun to the right) The long faint tail was also a clue to look out for the parhelic circle.

At one point there appeared to be a hint of parhelic circle to the right of the sundog but it was hard to be sure against the mottled background cloud.

There was briefly a portion of parhelic circle each side of the 120 degree parhelion. Visible as the horizontal streak a quarter of the way down from the top of the image it could easily be taken as a streak of cloud. It was only by watching it stay put while the cloud moved that I was sure it was real.


Canon EOS 5D   8th September 2012
Wiltshire, England

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