First Snow of 2015 - Sundog by jnhPhoto

In Chicago - Sun dogs are commonly made by the refraction of light from plate-shaped hexagonal ice crystals either in high and cold cirrus clouds or, during very cold weather, drifting in the air at low levels, in which case they are called diamond dust. The crystals act as prisms, bending the light rays passing through them with a minimum deflection of 22°. If the crystals are randomly oriented, a complete ring around the Sun is seen — a halo. But often, as the crystals sink through the air, they become vertically aligned, so sunlight is refracted horizontally. via 500px http://ift.tt/1HA3WfK