parhelion

parhelion
—parhelic, parheliacal /pahr'hi luy"euh keuhl/, adj.
/pahr hee"lee euhn, -heel"yeuhn/, n., pl. parhelia /-hee"lee euh, -heel"yeuh/. Meteorol.
a bright circular spot on a solar halo; a mock sun: usually one of two or more such spots seen on opposite sides of the sun, and often accompanied by additional luminous arcs and bands. Also called sundog. Cf. paraselene.
[1640-50; alter. of L parelion < Gk parélion, n. use of neut. of parélios beside the sun. See PAR-, HELIO-]

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also called  Mock Sun, or Sun Dog,  

      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 colours are occasionally visible, but more often the outer portions of each spot appear whitish.

      Parhelia occur when the Sun or Moon shines through a thin 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. See also halo.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Parhelion — Par*hel ion, n.; pl. {Parhelia}. [L. parelion, Gr. ?, ?; para beside + ? the sun.] A mock sun appearing in the form of a bright light, sometimes near the sun, and tinged with colors like the rainbow, and sometimes opposite to the sun. The latter… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • parhelion — (n.) 1640s, from Gk. parelion a mock sun, from para beside (see PARA (Cf. para )) + helios sun (see SOL (Cf. sol)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • parhelion — [pärhē′lē ən, pärhēl′yən] n. pl. parhelia [pär hē′lēə, pärhēl′yə] [L parelion < Gr parēlion < para , beside (see PARA 1) + hēlios, the sun: see HELIOS] a bright, sunlike optical illusion caused by sunlight passing through ice crystals in… …   English World dictionary

  • Parhelion — Beidseitige Nebensonne Nebensonnen sind Haloerscheinungen die in einem Abstand von rund 22° links oder rechts, manchmal auch beidseitig, neben der Sonne auftreten. Es erscheint dabei so, als ob sich neben der Sonne eine zweite, schwächere… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • parhelion — noun (plural parhelia) Etymology: Latin parelion, from Greek parēlion, from para + hēlios sun more at solar Date: 1647 any of several bright spots often tinged with color that often appear on the parhelic circle called also sun dog • parhelic… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • parhelion — noun /pɑːˈhiːlɪən/ a) A bright spot in the sky due to the refraction of the sun’s image by ice crystals. The short (166 lines) Canto One, with all those amusing birds and parhelia, occupies thirteen cards. b) a reflection or image Syn …   Wiktionary

  • parhelion —    see halo …   Dictionary of Hallucinations

  • Parhelion — Nebensonne …   Universal-Lexikon

  • parhelion — par·he·li·on || pÉ‘r hɪːlɪən /pɑː n. mock sun, pseudo sun, imaginary sun …   English contemporary dictionary

  • parhelion — [pα: hi:lɪən] noun (plural parhelia lɪə) a bright spot in the sky on either side of the sun, formed by refraction. Derivatives parhelic adjective Origin C17: from L. parelion, from Gk para beside + hēlios sun …   English new terms dictionary

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