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Bright Spots Near the Sun?

-- | July 29, 2014

Question: I took several pictures of a strange sight. It is what looked like a small sun beside the sun at sunset. I will try to post a picture. Any ideas? It was taken at sunset, July 12,2014. — Kathy

Answer: I think it very likely, based on your description, that what you were seeing was a “sun dog”. Sun dogs are due to an atmospheric effect caused by the refraction of light through ice crystals that produce bright spots at an angle of 22 degrees on both sides of the Sun (though both are not always visible).

Jeff Mangum

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