Sundog Halo, iPhone Shots, Minneapolis, Minnesota, December 2013, photo © 2013 by Liz Anne Schultz. All rights reserved.
Sundog halo
in a dark world—
her crystal face, silent, skewed.
Deviant rays of red and blue,
diamond dust takes many hues.
There were two days last week when sundogs appeared on our drive to work, adding a little magic to the sub-zero skies. Sundogs, parhelia, are formed by plate crystals high in the cirrus clouds. Though all crystals refract light from the sun’s rays, we only see those that tilt their light toward our eyes 22° or more from the sun and at the same altitude (a 22° circular halo).
When plate crystals drift down with their large hexagonal faces almost horizontal, rays that become sundogs enter a side face and leave through another, inclined 60° to the first. The refractions deviate the rays by 22° or more, depending on their angle when they enter the crystal, making them visible to us. Red is deviated least, giving the sundog a red inner edge.
Vädersolstavlan, a 17th century painting of Stockholm depicting a halo display event in 1535. Cleaned in 1998. Public Domain.
Sundogs are visible all over the world, any time of year, regardless of the ground temperature. In cold climates, the plates can reside at ground level as diamond dust. The oldest known account of a sundog is “Sun Dog Painting” (Vädersolstavlan) depicting Stockholm in 1535 when the skyscape was filled with white circles and arcs crossing the horizon. The original oil on panel painting, traditionally attributed to Urban Målare, is lost, and virtually nothing is known about it. A copy from 1636 by Jacob Heinrich Elbfas is held in Storkyrkan in Stockholm, and believed to be an accurate copy.
-posted on red Ravine, Monday, December 9th, 2013
-related to post WRITING TOPIC — CIRCLES, haiku 4 (one-a-day) Meets renga 52
redravine.wordpress.com 
Very interesting, QM. I saw a spectacular sun dog at the beach the other day. It was intensely colorful.
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Thank you – I will look abit more closely in future! Thank you for the poem. Always enjoy this site…
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Robin & Craig, thanks for stopping by. Robin, I’d love to see a sundog on the beach. I’ve only ever seen them in the cold Midwestern skies. I didn’t know until I researched sundogs that it doesn’t have to be cold to see them. I think with all the bareness of Winter, it just makes it easier to identify a sundog.
We are finally out of the subzero temps. It’s snowing and gray. A good day to curl up and read a good book.
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