Parhelia at Abisko
Image Credit &
Copyright:
Felipe Menzella
Three suns seem to hug the horizon in this otherworldly winterscape.
But the evocative scene was
captured during a February 3rd snowmobile exploration
of the mountainous region around Abisko National Park, northern Sweden,
planet Earth.
The two bright spots on either side of
Earth's Sun are parhelia
(singular parhelion),
also known as mock suns or sun dogs.
The parhelia are caused by
hexagonal
ice crystals
suspended
in the hazy atmosphere that reflect and refract sunlight.
Commonly seen in winter and at high latitudes, the bright parhelia
lie along the visible 22 degree
ice halo of the Sun.