Photographer: Jon Marcus
Summary Authors: Jon Marcus; Jim Foster
One afternoon late last year, I was sitting in my car on a roadside in Malibu, California, taking a photo of the Sun reflecting off the Pacific Ocean. However, when I looked at the picture, I realized I didn’t zoom in enough and then noticed the sundog pair and 22 degree halo that had initially escaped my attention. So, I quickly got out of my car and captured the magnificent view shown above.
Positioned some 22 degrees from the solar disk and at the same solar altitude, sundogs or parhelia form from the refraction of sunlight through the multitude of plate shaped ice crystals that make up cirrus clouds. Note that if the crystals are rather poorly aligned, a circular halo may take shape, also approximately 22 degrees from the solar disk. Always use caution when looking anywhere near the Sun. Photo taken on December 28, 2024, at 2:30 pm local time.
Malibu, California Coordinates: 34.0381, -118.6923
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