Sun Dogs Over Fairfax County

Article and all photos by FMN Stephen Tzikas

Feature photo: 11/15/16 Sun dog observed from East Falls Church Metro Station near sunset. One can see the smaller left Sun dog over a building. The brighter Sun is on the right.

A long time ago, probably at a flea market, I saw a used book for sale.  It had a catchy title, which one might see on the front page of the National Enquirer.  That catchy title, Flying Saucers on the Attack (1967) by Howard Wilkins, caught my attention.  With a smirk on my face, I picked up the book and browsed through it.  Soon I had completely forgotten about the book’s title because the book had a very interesting list of natural meteorological phenomena in Chapter 10, which the author tried to convey as flying saucers.  Specifically, I recognized

2/22/17 Sun Dog (center) seen above Reston Metro platform near sunset.  Notice this right lobe has a parhelic circle extension (looks like a horizontal ray to the right of the Sun dog).  The faint vertical ray above and below the Sun dog is part of a 22 degree halo.

some of these entries as Sun dogs.  I also realized I had never seen a Sun dog, so I made it a priority to do so.  It didn’t take me long after that commitment to spot my first Sun dog.  In fact, over several months I saw four Sun dogs.  Their photographs are presented in this article.  Three of these were in Fairfax County. Perceptual awareness is such a powerful tool!

The Greeks were the first to identify Sun dogs. Aristotle noted in his Meteorology that “two mock suns rose with the Sun and followed it all through the day until sunset.” Sun dogs are formed when sunlight is refracted in the horizontal plane through six-sided, plate-like ice crystals that float in the atmosphere or in high elevation cirrus and cirrostratus clouds.  Sun dogs can appear solo or on each side of the Sun. The visual thrills don’t stop there. Do an internet search to learn about the different types of Sun arcs and Sun pillars, and parhelic circles. The Moon offers similar phenomena including lunar coronas.  

2/23/15 Sun dog spotted over Lake Audubon near sunset.  I caught a Sun dog looking outside my window.  The bright Sun dog is on the left, while the larger Sun is on the right.

I saw two Sun dogs from the Metro on my way home from work in Washington DC.  This is a good time to see Sun dogs low on the horizon in the late afternoon and as a “captive audience” from a train window.  I had my cell phone camera with me so I photographed the phenomenon, one at East Falls Church metro station, and one at Reston metro station. The pandemic put a pause on my Sun dog viewing opportunities, but I hope they will pick-up in the future again.

10/11/16 Sun dog seen (lower center) from the NJ side of the Delaware Memorial Bridge near sunset.  The bright Sun is on the left by the flag pole.  A good spot to find Sun dogs is from the windshield of your car.  On long trips you might see a Sun dog as I had, on my way home from NJ.

Sun dogs are red-colored at the side nearest the Sun.  Farther out the colors blend from orange to blue shades.

Red is the less deviated color, giving the Sun dogs that red inner edge. So Sun dogs are like a reversed rainbow, that is they have a reversed color scheme, because primary rainbows are red on the outside and violet on the inside. Sun dogs tend to occur when the Sun is near the horizon.  Sun dogs most commonly appear during the winter in the middle latitudes.  They can be quite bright, making one think they are actually viewing the Sun, if the Sun is blocked from view, such as being obstructed by a building.

If you have never seen a Sun dog, I think you will be pleasantly surprised with my photographs.  It’s really amazing all the sorts of things one can see in the sky whether during the day or at night.  I am always attentive for interesting atmospheric phenomena. I have seen quite a lot of weird things that I have had to research for answers.  As Master Naturalists we often look down or around us to observe nature, but sometimes a lot can be seen by looking up.