That right there is a thing of beauty.
Taken in Deadhorse, Alaska (population 25, yup twenty five), a worker was able to capture what appears to be three sunsets at once, but in reality is called a “Sun Dog.” Deadhorse is all the way up north in Alaska, and brings with it some unique phenomena from the great outdoors, such as this, or the midnight sun (during the summer months since it is above the Arctic Circle).
Alaska also has soccer playing moose…
Back to the sunset. Here’s what the worker said:
“I was at work and looked out the back window and got a glimpse of a beautiful sunset. So I walked outside to get a picture and wasn’t expecting to see 3 sunsets. From what I’ve researched, this is called a Sun Dog and they occur when hexagonal ice crystals in the clouds bend light. I’ve never seen anything like this before, and from what I’ve heard they don’t occur that often.”
Here’s the full definition of a “Sun Dog”
“Sun dog, also called mock sun or parhelion, atmospheric optical phenomenon appearing in the sky as luminous spots 22° on each side of the Sun and at the same elevation as the Sun. Usually, the edges closest to the Sun will appear reddish. Other colors are occasionally visible, but more often the outer portions of each spot appear whitish.
Sun dogs occur when the Sun or Moon shines through a thin cirrus cloud composed of hexagonal ice crystals falling with their principal axes vertical, as opposed to the halo phenomenon that occurs when the principal axes are randomly arranged in a plane perpendicular to the Sun’s or Moon’s rays. The red end of the spectrum, being bent the least, appears on the inside, with the blue, when visible, appearing on the outside. Sun dogs most commonly appear during the winter in the middle latitudes.”
Talk about peaceful isolation from the rest of the world – check this out.
