A mock sun appearing in the form of a bright light, sometimes near the sun, and tinged with colors like the rainbow, and sometimes opposite to the sun. The latter is usually called an anthelion. Often several mock suns appear at the same time. Cf. Paraselene.
a bright spot on the parhelic circle; caused by diffraction by ice crystals; "two or more parhelia are usually seen at once"
Either of two colored luminous spots that appear at points 22° (or somewhat more) on both sides of the sun and at the same elevation as the sun. Also called mock sun, sun dog.
Parhelia is the plural form of the word. See Mock Sun for definition. There are 9, 18, 22, 23, 120 degree parhelia...
The scientific name for sun dogs. Either of two colored luminous spots that appear at roughly 22 degrees on both sides of the sun at the same elevation. They are caused by the refraction of sunlight passing through ice crystals. They are most commonly seen during winter in the middle latitudes and are exclusively associated with cirriform clouds. They are also known as mock suns. Related term: Dave's Dictionary
(Also called sun dog.) A halo in the form of a colored spot at the same angular elevation as the sun. The lunar counterpart is a paraselene. The most common parhelia are seen about 22° on either side of the sun. That angular distance increases from 22° when the sun is on the horizon to over twice that when the sun climbs to 60°. The sun side of a parhelion is reddish. The parhelia of 22° can be explained by refraction in hexagonal crystals falling with principal axes vertical. The effective prism angle is 60° when the sun is on the horizon, but this increases as the sun climbs, resulting in greater displacement of the parhelion.
