sun dog
nounDefinition of sun dog
1
: parhelion
2
: a small nearly round halo on the parhelic circle most frequently just outside the halo of 22 degrees
Examples of sun dog in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The colors occur when sunlight passes through the ice crystals, similar to how sun dogs or halos form. — Kathryn Prociv, Washington Post, "Extremely rare, colorful nighttime clouds shine over Arizona," 30 Mar. 2018 But this picture also holds another interesting effect: sun dogs. — Mika Mckinnon, Smithsonian, "How the Antarctic Sun Creates Breathtaking Optical Effects," 5 Feb. 2018 When sun dogs are present due to high cirrus clouds, they can actually be used as a forecast tool. — Kathryn Prociv, Washington Post, "Pic of the Week: Brilliant sun dog shines over the Mountain State," 23 Feb. 2018 Similar to sun dogs, lunar and solar halos belong to the family of ice halos, which are optical phenomena formed by the refraction of sun on hexagonal ice crystals suspended high up in the atmosphere, most commonly in cirrus clouds. — Kathryn Prociv, Washington Post, "Skywatchers in Chile were star-struck by this incredible lunar halo," 13 Apr. 2018 Another arc of light swoops through the center of the image, crossing the sun and sun dogs. — Mika Mckinnon, Smithsonian, "How the Antarctic Sun Creates Breathtaking Optical Effects," 5 Feb. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sun dog.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more