Sundog season starting

fringe_dweller · #1 15-01-2006, 02:27 AM

let the parhelia begin

was near the coast on friday, saw my first sundog of the late summer/early autumn season for us here at any rate.
seen plenty before - but never had a camera on me at the same time - cracked me first! yehaa - not a very speccy one (just a single which is the majority i see), or even a decent or speccy matching simultaneous pair - but it ill do for now hehe
it soon turned into a boring old 22º halo later on, as the ice crystals in the cirrus changed from the uniform angles to random?- but visually i could see a sundog on the opposite side now in the halo, but in the photos it doesnt show up properly, bummer
i see maybe 3 or 4 displays during the season if i am lucky - so not super common here imo - not as common as 22º halos are here, see 20-30 of them a year easy i guess, maybe more?.
check out what they get in the polar regions http://www.sundog.clara.co.uk/halo/bishop.htm
i also quickly snapped a double red sunset rainbow this evening - although to the eye it wasnt that red? flash went of accidently - lighting up raindrops

fringe_dweller · #2 15-01-2006, 02:29 AM

heres rainbow

ving (David) · #3 15-01-2006, 12:25 PM

sweet pics... what is a sundog?

fringe_dweller · #4 15-01-2006, 02:18 PM

Thanks Ving m8

sundogs is also known as a parhelia and mock suns -
They occur when the angle of the dangle is just right - usually late afternoon for us here in adders when the sun is low enough. they are trickily probably more common then we realise, as most people dont look near the sun for obvious reasons. i deliberately look for them of course (not that i look evryday - but fairly regularly, when conditions are right) - best way is block out sun with your hand and check at the right distances away (around 22º) and near horizontal to sun, say from 3-4-5pm till late.
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki did a spot in his foxtel weather spot on sundogs once - and he loves em, and mentioned that easter is weirdly always a good time for him to see them - and he is dead right - never failed to see some around that time at this latitude.
here's some websites on them
http://www.sundog.clara.co.uk/halo/parhelia.htm
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu...os/sundog.html
the best ones arent produced by messy thick cirrus like i had - the best are when the cirrus/ice is very thin and transparent - i have only seen one or two good displays in many many years at this latitude, the best was my first - was playing tennis with mates and the one spectating noticed there was three suns!!! there were very very bright, indeed close in brightness to the sun - they werent the usual rainbow ones - they were bright white like the sun is to our eyes - never forget that one :-)))
edit: PS in history there has been some rare displays with up to 5 mock suns at once

asimov (John) · #5 15-01-2006, 03:22 PM

Hi Kearn.

I was out there yesterday arvo till sundown just looking at all sorts of strange & marvellous cloud formations & the like (I dig stormy weather like this) but I've never heard of a sun dog before!?

Thanks for making me more aware of my surroundings!

Nice pics mate BTW

fringe_dweller · #6 15-01-2006, 03:34 PM

Cheers m8!

i love the free entertainment nature gives us

fringe_dweller · #7 16-01-2006, 03:49 PM

i have been curious about pics taken of sundogs and related phenonema taken from mainland oz for a while - i thought there wasnt many out there - but there is a few online
here's some beauties from Dr. Russell Cockman
http://www.russellsastronomy.com/sky...tmospheric.htm
this is great 'A wonderful display of sundogs and a trace of an upper tangent arc imaged over Elwood beach, Melbourne, April 2005'
http://www.russellsastronomy.com/sky...ndogs%20sm.jpg

these guys have a few here http://australiasevereweather.com/ph...alosundog.html

http://www.saweather.net/ has one, go to >Photographs>Irridescents there is a halo shot that looks suspiciously like it has sundogs and a upper tangent arc

only SA one i can see so far

well if you find anymore i would like to see them

cheers