Who Let the (Sun) Dogs Out?

 

Who let the "dogs" out?

 

As I turned onto the highway toward Stafford for my Recently Read Book group at the library last evening, the sunset colors had some competition. A vertical rainbow added some additional color to the evening sky. Of course, I had to pull over and take some photos. 

 

I had seen sundogs during a cold patch back in 2019, but those looked a little different. (I wrote about them at this link.)

 

So I wasn't positive that my singular "rainbow" was the same thing. But after some research today, I think it, too, was a sundog or sun pillar.

 

Here's what the AI Overview said:   

 

A vertical rainbow in winter is typically a sundog (parhelion) or a sun pillar, created when sunlight refracts or reflects off ice crystals in the cold air, often appearing as vertical, colorful streaks or bright spots on either side of the low sun. These phenomena occur when plate-shaped ice crystals align as they fall, acting like millions of tiny prisms. 

 

Key Details About Vertical Winter Rainbows:

• Cause: They are formed when sunlight passes through ice crystals in the atmosphere, often from high cirrus clouds or low-level lake effect snow. The ice crystals in the upper atmosphere act as prisms. 
• Appearance:
  They can appear as colored, vertical pillars of light (sun pillars) or bright, rainbow-colored spots (sundogs/parhelia)
  .
Timing: These are most common during sunrise or sunset when the sun is low on the horizon.
Terminology: They are sometimes referred to as "mock suns," "phantom suns," or colloquially as a "snowbow". 

These optical phenomena are not actually rainbows, which require liquid water drops, but rather a form of atmospheric ice halo.

Some interpretations view a winter rainbow as a symbol of the loyalty of friends and family ... or so says one source.

OK ... that's a nice thought.

Writing for the Old Farmer's Almanac, James Garriss said this: 

In medieval times, the three bright lights were sometimes interpreted as the sign of the trinity, a sign of great fortune. Nowadays, they are a sign that you were lucky to be looking at the sky at just the right time.  

I like being at the right place at the right time. And then I got to hear about some favorite reads at my local library? That's a pretty great evening in my "book." (A little library humor for you!)

 

Not Fit for Man Nor Beast

Sunday morning was "not fit for man nor beast," as the old saying goes.

Well, it may not have been fit for man, but it was perfect for dogs ... sundogs, that is!

Randy went out to check cattle Sunday morning. Wind chills were well below zero and the 3 inches of snow that fell overnight were swirling and creating ice darts on exposed skin. But when he saw that the eastern sky had sundogs, he called and asked if I wanted to bundle up and come, too.

Sometimes, weather phenomena are over and done before you can tell someone else about them. But Sunday morning's unusual sky lasted for awhile.

I later turned to the internet to learn more:

A sundog is a concentrated patch of sunlight occasionally seen about 22° to the left or right of the Sun. Sundogs often form in pairs on either side of our daytime star when sunlight refracts through icy clouds containing hexagonal plate crystals aligned with their large, flat faces parallel to the ground. Technically known as parhelia (singular parhelion) they are often white but sometimes quite colorful, looking like detached pieces of rainbow, with red on the inside, toward the Sun, and blue on the outside.

From Sky and Telescope

OK. That was a mouthful.
Let's see what The Old Farmer's Almanac says.
This old farmer thought it was easier to understand.

Sun dogs, or parhelia, are the canine cousins of rainbows. Sometimes they look like bright pieces of rainbows on either side of the sun. Other times they are brighter and actually look like two extra suns. Indeed, they are frequently called “mock suns” or “phantom suns”. The most common name, however, for these bright lights that faithfully follow the sun is sun dogs.

Both rainbows and sundogs are formed by moisture filtering the sunlight. Rainbows form when drops of rain act as prisms, breaking sunlight into a multitude of colors. Sundogs appear when sunlight hits clouds of ice crystals and the ice acts as prisms.

Old Farmer's Almanac

There are some differences. You see rainbows when you look away from the sun. You see sundogs when you look toward the sun. And that shuts down the camera lens, making it hard to capture a photo. But I did my best.

From HyperPhysics, C.R. Nave Georgia State University

In medieval times, the three bright lights were sometimes interpreted as the sign of the trinity, a sign of great fortune. Nowadays, they are a sign that you were lucky to be looking at the sky at just the right time.  

James Garriss, Old Farmer's Almanac

I love a writer with a sense of humor! But since church got canceled due to the extreme wind chills and drifting snow, a reminder of the Trinity was a good idea, too, though I am frequently reminded of God's handiwork when outside in His creation ... even when it's way too cold!

After our sundog viewing, I went along for the ride for the cattle checks.

This baby had a rather unorthodox way to dine. (I wouldn't recommend positioning there, but I guess warm milk trumped practicality.)

Our cattle all have northern windbreaks, and they put them to good use. It's amazing to me that they know instinctively to gather for protection from the elements.

Before the snow started, the guys made sure they had plenty of hay and water to help them weather the storm.

Even though it was cold all day long, the sun melted the ice on their coats by the time we checked cattle Sunday evening.

I did most of my viewing from the passenger side of the pickup while Randy walked out and checked cows and calves.

Thankfully, we're 3/4 complete with calving, and we didn't have any born during the cold sub-zero wind chills Saturday and Sunday nights.

That would have been a cold, cruel introduction to the world!

The cattle weren't the only animals out in the cold. So were deer and ...

... turkeys. There were probably 20 to 30 as we drove into one location. Sorry the photo isn't better. Turkeys may be slow ... but I guess I'm slower.