By Judi Curry
![Sundog_looking_east[1]](https://i0.wp.com/sandiegofreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Sundog_looking_east1.jpeg)
That seems to be the question everyone is asking since the Ebola epidemic started affecting people in the United States. My usual answer would be “no” but I now have changed that and say, “I’ve been to North Dakota in the past few weeks. Does that count?”
It’s obvious that I know that North Dakota is not a “foreign country” in the true sense of the meaning, but I’ve learned so much about the State that was foreign to me before.
How many of you know what a “sun dog” is? Living in San Diego my dog is frequently in the sun, but that’s not what is meant in North Dakota – and other communities nearby.
Sun dogs are an atmospheric phenomenon caused by the refraction of sunlight through ice crystals such as those hosted in cirrus clouds. A number of specific conditions must prevail for this phenomenon to form: the sun must be in the sky, usually less than 45 degrees from the horizon, and in the same horizontal plane as the viewer.
Small hexagonal ice crystals must also be in roughly the same plane, and be oriented parallel to the ground. If all of the ice crystals are relatively flat, sun dogs will form approximately 22 degrees away from the sun.
Usually, they come in pairs, one on either side of the sun, and they are sometimes accompanied by a halo, caused by the refraction of sunlight through ice crystals oriented in multiple directions. They are absolutely beautiful.
My friend Cowboy took these pictures, both in the morning and afternoon. My first response was that the sun broke into two, for it looks like two suns are setting.
I am working on another article about the real differences of our state and Cowboy’s, but I wanted to share these pictures with you. And, as I know Cowboy will point out to me, they are not indigenous to North Dakota.
Enjoy.
Judi Curry
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You learn something new every day. North Dakota is also the only state with a public bank. Therefore, they didn’t suffer an economic meltdown when Wall Street went kerflooie in 2008.
Thank you Judy, for a good reminder that the angle of light and the interplay of sun and water- in all its forms- can create a strong sense of place.
When I’ve travelled far from San Diego I’ve been struck by how I’ll suddenly feel disoriented because the sun is “out of place” in the sky. Living here, in the temperate mid-latitude of 32 degrees, we don’t experience the radical seasonal shifts of the far north/south.
It’s amazing to consider the variety of light- and water-related phenomena seen in different climates, geography and latitudes. These include Hawaiian rainbows, these sun dogs, northern lights, “midnight suns,” and the shimmer of an oasis on a dry seabed in Baja, that inverts objects on the horizon.
In a way, they help define the places we inhabit, even as identical strip malls/shopping centers blend together along the highways.
Thanks for introducing another one to be on the lookout for.
Just a few days after taking these pictures, there was a “sighting” of the aurora borealis. Unfortunately he became aware of it too late and didn’t get a picture of it, but I remember the northern lights when we lived in Maine and they were spectacular. (Our sunsets have been pretty special too!)
Wonderful article and excellent photos!
Many (MANY!) years ago, while driving coast-to-coast (east to west) on I-90, I traversed ND at night during summer. I saw what I thought were lights of a city or town to the northwest. As I kept driving and the “lights” moved to my right, I realized I should have passed the town by now. Then, finally, I understood that I was actually seeing the SUN, just below the horizon!
BTW, I have photos of sun dogs and sun circles right here in San Diego, too. Being aware of, and noticing atmosphereic phenomena is one of the joys of living.
Thanks, Judy!