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'Sundogs' spotted across Colorado: Share your photos with 9NEWS

The bright patches of light aren't lens flares. "Sundogs" are a totally natural atmospheric phenomenon.

DENVER — Several 9NEWS viewers captured beautiful photos Thursday morning that look like a halo or mini rainbows around the sun.

An atmospheric phenomenon called sundogs, these are similar to a rainbow.

Both sundogs and rainbows are formed by moisture filtering sunlight. Sundogs occur when light refracts through ice crystals high in the atmosphere.

Those crystals are shaped like hexagonal prisms and float down to the ground horizontally. When sunlight enters the crystals, the light is bent and creates mini rainbows about 22 degrees on the left, right, or both sides of the sun.

Colors in a sundog usually go from red on the side nearest to the sun, shifting through orange out to blue on the outside of the sundog.

Share your photos

RELATED: 9NEWS has a new app, download it here

  1. Open the 9NEWS app on your smartphone
  2. On the bottom right, you'll see a button called 'Near Me'—click it
  3. A map will pop up, zoom in or out to find photos, videos, and stories from around Colorado         

To share content with us:                                                           

  1. Click the orange button in the top left part of the screen that says "Share with Us"
  2. Upload your photo or video directly from your device
  3. Fill out the fields: give it a title, a credit, your email, and tell us where it was taken
  4. It will then be reviewed and approved by 9NEWS

Download the 9NEWS APP
iTunes: http://on9news.tv/itunes
Google Play: http://on9news.tv/1lWnC5n

Credit: Nerissa Mangisel
Longmont
Credit: Carol Haertig
Broomfield
Credit: Tyler Rose
Windsor
Credit: Melissa Gallegos
Westminster
Credit: Kevin Ryan
Littleton
Credit: Kate
Westminster
Credit: Brian Gaschler


It's cold out there, but if you capture a photo, we'd love to see it! You can share your snow photos with "Near Me" on the 9NEWS app.

Posted by 9NEWS (KUSA) on Thursday, December 22, 2022

SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Snow in Colorado

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