Sundog

For the past couple of days I have seen brilliant sundogs. However, trying to photograph them is not that easy. So, with the help of curves (photoshop) I tried to balance off the brightness and contrast. This was taken close to noon and it really was very bright out, with the white snow shimmering. But I added contrast so the sundog could be seen more clearly. This is the longest arch I have seen - it almost looked like a rainbow! One definition of profile is to represent in outline from one side. I'd say the sundog is profiling the sun. This might be a stretch for the challenge of the day, but I wanted to put up my sundog photo ;)

What is a sundog you ask?
"A sun dog or sundog, also called a mock sun or a phantom sun, is an atmospheric phenomenon that creates bright spots of light in the sky, often on a luminous ring or halo on either side of the sun. Sundogs may appear as a colored patch of light to the left or right of the sun, 22° distant and at the same distance above the horizon as the sun, and in ice halos."

"Sundogs are commonly made by the refraction of light from plate-shaped hexagonal ice crystals in high and cold cirrus clouds or, during very cold weather, these ice crystals are called diamond dust, and drift in the air at low levels. These crystals act as prisms, bending the light rays passing through them with a minimum deflection of 22°. If the crystals are randomly oriented, a complete ring around the sun is seen — a halo. But often, as the crystals sink through the air, they become vertically aligned, so sunlight is refracted horizontally — in this case, sundogs are seen.

"Sundogs are red-colored at the side nearest the sun. Farther out the colors grade through oranges to blue. However, the colors overlap considerably and so are muted, never pure or saturated. The colors of the sundog finally merge into the white of the parhelic circle (if the latter is visible)." Wikipedia

Much as I would like it to warm up a little, I would also like to keep seeing these sundogs. It seems the weather conditions are just right for them. "Diamond dust" - I like that term for sundogs. I just wish it was possible to capture them more clearly with a photo.