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I have read about them and seen 3, but never had the opportunity to take a picture of one until today. (01/12/03). While we all wish for clear skies, you won't see one ( or both) of these unless there are some clouds around. The black specs are actually a group of Black Vultures out looking for a meal !!
Sundogs are caused by sunlight being refracted by thin clouds, very high in the atmosphere, composed mainly of ice crystals ( ie: cirrostratus clouds). They bend light at a 22 degree angle, which creates a halo around the sun that is 44 degrees in diameter. The inner edge of the halo can often be observed to be a red color , and the sky inside of the halo can be darker than the sky outside of it, as seen in this picture. There can be two Sundogs visable (one on each side) and the mate was just outside my FOV.
