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Thursday, November 15, 2012

My First Sun Dog (Not a Rainbow)

 
Seriously? Well, it seems to be the first one I've posted on a blog. I suppose I think they are trite, even though they are beautiful.

This one was a bit odd, though. It hadn't rained at all. Nor snowed. I had finished my last assignment yesterday and was headed home. I was in Ludington, and had to find a place where I could get off the street and still see the color to take a picture.

You might think the "burned out" part of the image is the sun showing through the clouds. Not so. The sun was a good 15 degrees away from the rainbow. I don't know why that one spot was so bright.

Next odd part. This was all there was of it. It was more like a rain-spot. That doesn't sound as pleasant as rain-bow, though, does it? Sounds more like a puddle.

It was sort of a color puddle in the sky.

OK, enough build-up. Here is is.

sun dog

Vanilla and Chuck suggested this is a sun dog. So, today I have learned something new. The red side of a sun dog is toward the sun, so that is exactly what it is. I always thought the blue side was toward the sun, but the light is refracted (through ice in the atmosphere) rather than reflected, so the colors are reversed.

Thanks, guys! I love learning things.

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7 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Lovely capture of the rainbow. It is always a treat for me to see a rainbow. Thanks for sharing, have a great weekend!

vanilla said...

We called that phenomenon a "sundog." It would be 22 degrees from the sun.

rainfield61 said...

It looks more like a worm up there.

A rainbow worm.

Secondary Roads said...

You were looking at a sundog. Sometimes that white blob is part of that phenomenon. The sun would have been 180 removed if that were a rainbow. Anyway, it a nice pic. Thanks.

vanilla said...

Still it is a great sight and, nice capture!

Sharkbytes said...

To all- this IS a sundog, and I wish I'd taken a longer view that showed more of the sky in perspective. O well... next time. Sun dogs are pretty common, supposedly. I've seen quite a few, but most didn't have such good color.

Ann said...

rainbow or sundog it sure is pretty.