What's at the end of this rainbow?[Sundog]

News.com.au ^ | 09 Aug 2007 | News.com.au

[BGHater]

SO where, you might wonder, would you find the pot of gold?

That's what the myth says you will find at the end of the rainbow. But sadly for treasure-hunters, this one has no end.

This awesome sight in the skies over Malaysia this week was not really a rainbow at all but a rare optical illusion called a sundog.

These appear when the sun is low and its rays catch the thin vapour formed of ice crystals that lies in the atmosphere six miles above the Earth's surface. The rays are refracted by the crystals, producing what looks like a halo round the sun.

Sometimes they show a spectrum of colours, which leads to them being mistaken for full circle rainbows.

[BGHater]

Sundog ... the phenomenon is very rare

[Red Badger]

Moondogs are even rarer?......

[Sterlis]

Never saw either before this picture however my grandmother told me about moondogs years ago. They provided some confirmation of weather conditions for the watermen on the Chesapeake Bay, MD where she lives.

[CJ Wolf]

I’ve seen a few. Usually means rain in the near future.

Moondogs? The rings around the moon at night? usually means snow.

[CJ Wolf]

[sweetiepiezer]

Saw one years ago on a flight cross country. The pilot pointed it out to all and said he had been flying for a lot of years and that the one we were looking at was only the second one he had ever seen.
Really cool.

[metmom]

Sundogs and moondogs are not that rare, although full circle ones are less common than partial ones. The problem is looking in the direction the sun usually blinds one to it. I’ve seen plenty of full circle moondogs, though.

BTW, “the thin layer of ice crystals” shown in the picture that this guy makes sound so mysterious and unique, looks just like ordinary cirrostratus clouds, the kind that precede a warm front.

[Larry Lucido]

looks like a halo round the sun

Paging "Classygreeneyedblond."

[Jaysun]

I’ve seen a sundog before but it wasn’t a rainbow. Just a ring of light.

[Between the Lines]

Here in the Carolinas you usually see four or five of them a winter.

[Red Badger]

I’ve seen a few of both. Tried to take a pic of a good moondog once but it just came out black.........

[mtbopfuyn]

Moondogs are even rarer?......

Unfortunately, moonbats aren't rare.

[Kirkwood]

This is not a sun dog. Sun dogs are common and are seen at sunset or sunrise on opposite sides of the sun. They are “dogging” the sun. What this shows is a sun glory also often called a sun halo and less commonly called a sunbow. It is possible to have both a sun halo and sun dogs occurring at the same time.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

“Moondogs are even rarer?”
I’ve seen Moondogs in Hawaii. Actually a multiple Moondog! Four complete rings around the moon. And I didn’t have any Maui Wowie!

[madison10]

I’ve seen many sun dogs. My grandfather told me about them. Never saw a round one, though.

(grandparents know stuff your parents never bother to tell you)