I Ain't Nothin' But A Sun Dog!

This is a dog and the sun,
perhaps a dog worshiping the sun,
but this is not a Sun Dog.

Erik, our neighbour and friend,
knocked on the door this afternoon
and motioned me outside.

"Ever see a sun dog?"  he asked.

"Nope," I answered.

Erik raised his hand to shield his eyes
and pointed to the central sun and then
two, almost mirror like suns on either
side.

google image

Our sun dogs were setting over
the Atlantic while cirrus clouds
swirled about.

Perusing the Atmospheric Sciences Department

 on the Lyndon  State College of Vermont website

I discovered these "cliff" notes;

Sun Dogs  (greek Parhelion, "with the sun")
created at white light is refracted through ice crystals in the form of hexagonal plates.
this is similar to the dispersion of white light as it passes through a prism.
see pg. 101, figure 4.22 for an example of what a sun dog looks like.


  
 But who dubbed these lovely spots Sun Dogs?
According to the Oxford English Dictionary,
back in 1631 Captain Luke Foxe, in search of
the Northwest Passage through the ice of the
Canadian North wrote in his journal,
This evening Sun Dog, I hope may bring some change
to our good.  

Dogs seem to populate the celestial realms.
Sirius, the Dog Star, the brightest star in our night
sky is also the brightest star in the constellation
Canis Major.  Then there is Canis Minor....the
pup perhaps or the little dog.

, 
I do love dogs and these two are no exception.

Speaking of Gregorian chant (!)
what does some of my favourite music
 have to do with Sun Dogs?
Click, listen, enjoy.

Oh, by the way,
when in doubt,
learn something new.