Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-02-04
"SIN-DOGsv AT NEW YORK,

New York was astonished to see, just
after the recent blizzard, three suns,
where but one ought to have been, the
city being entirely in it's sober senses.
Three notwithstanding suns" the
Herald says, suddenly became visible,
the two additional ones being sun-dogs,
rarely seen in these ATTITUDES, and known
TO men of science as parhelia or mock
suns. There was formed about the sun
a great misty circle, darkest at its outer
rim. The circle was surrounded by a
fiery halo, glowing with prismatic colors,
in which an angry red predominated IN
the interior. 1t extended from the hori-
zon half way to the zenith. On the outer
edge of the circle of mist, parallel with
the sun and to the right and left Of it,,
appeared two sun-dogs. The mock-suns
were but half as bright as the real sun,
though Of the same size. and surround
ed, as was the great planet, with glow
ing halos.
From the disk of the sun, which was
obscured by a faint veil, there wavered
pointed rays. A horizontal shaft Of light
connected the two mock-suns with the
planet itself. At the edges where the
sun-dogs appeared the circle was touch
ed by flaming red streaks."
Truly it must have been a striking
spectacle, and, the Herald continues. the
phenomenon lasted more than an hour,
1.-The apparitions wavering. now dim,
now brilliant. and then suddenly gleam-
ing with steady distinctness. Cirrus
clouds drifted above the great circle, in
no wise. however, diminishing the dis
tinctness of the true and mock-planets
Gradually the sun-dog on the right faded
into the misty sky, but the one on the
left maintained its shape long afterward.
There was no gradual fading Of the en-
tire phenomenon, however The dark clr-
Gle and its fiery belt wavered and shone,
disappearing at times and darting into
being again, after the manner of the
aurora boreals. The sun-dog seen on
the left (as one looked southwark last
ed for more than two hours.
Meteorological experts say that the
sun-dogs were similar to those seen In
higher ATTITUDES, or in the Arctic regions,
where they are more remarkable. They
ascribed their appearance at New York
to moisture in the upper regions of the
atmosphere Only slight fall in thu
barometer was observed while the sun
dogs manifested themselves.
The scientific explanation of the phe.
nomenon, as given by the Herald, is as
follows:
''Halos are formed from the refraction
and reflection of the rays Of light by the
minute snow crystals of the cirrus cloud.
At the points of intersection of the cir
cles of the halo images of the sun gene
rally appear from the light concentrated
at these points, the images being called
parhelia or mocksuns."
The Herald reporter adds:
81 was told that, although popular SUI
perstition connects such phenomena with
dire meteorological or terrestrial dis
turbances. the sun-dogs did not neces-
sarily indicate an immediate or very
radical change in the local weather.
"Mock-suns, the experts explained, had
no very decided connection with the last
blizzard 1 was told that very often the
mock-suns precede a sort Of breaking up
OF the weather or the arrival Of storms.
IL cannot. however. be absolutely pre-
dcted that a gale will ensue at the place
where the phenomenon was visible. Yet
IL Is usually supposed that 1t indicates
bad weather.