A phenomenon known as a "sun dog" has been spotted in the glorious blue skies over Bournemouth beach.
Beachgoers on the Dorset beach gazed upwards on Tuesday to watch the beautiful phenomenon, which occurs when sunlight is refracted by hexagonal-shaped ice crystals in high and cirrus clouds.
This picture was taken from Bournemouth beach in Dorset by photographer Chris Skone-Roberts.
During the Wars of the Roses, a 15th century civil war between the Yorkists and Lancastrians, two rival branches of the Plantagenet Royal House, the Yorkist leader Edward, Earl of March (the future King Edward IV and the grandfather of Henry VIII) told his troops that a sun dog which had appeared in the sky just before the 1461 Battle of Mortimer's Cross was a good omen, and it led them to victory. The Sun later became used as a Yorkist symbol.
In 1650, in the Lancashire town of Bolton, a sun dog was spotted in the sky on the town's market day, leaving Boltonians - who supported the Parliamentarians during the English Civil War -believing it was a sign of God's wrath following the execution of Charles I the previous year.
William Shakespeare also described this phenomenon in Act Two Scene One of Henry VI, Part 3.
Eye in the sky: 'Sun dog' halo blazes over Bournemouth beach
By Daily Mail Reporter
21st July 2010
Daily Mail
It looks like a giant eye gazing down from the heavens.
But the spectacular sight of the sun surrounded by a mysterious halo is known as a 'sun dog'.
The phenomenon, which had beachgoers in Bournemouth gazing at the sky yesterday, occurs when sunlight is refracted by hexagonal-shaped ice crystals in high and cirrus clouds - and is quite common.
Bournemouth photographer Chris Skone-Roberts captured this amazing 'sun dog' hovering over the seaside town yesterday.
This picture was taken from Bournemouth beach in Dorset by photographer Chris Skone-Roberts.
The phenonemen is officially called a pathelia but is also known as a 'halo' or 'mock sun'.
The sun was partly obscured by high cirrus clouds. 'Sun dogs' are more commonly seen when the sun is low in the sky and not in the middle of the day.
Mr Skone-Roberts. 40, from Bournemouth, said: 'It was a nice day and I went with some friends to the beach.
'It was just after 1pm and I looked up and saw the halo around the sun. They're very rare and are not often complete.
'Lots of people were trying to get photographs of it on their phones, but that's not easy to do.
'I used a UV filter and managed to get a picture. You need a 10-20mml lens. It looked spectacular.'
A cloud passes in front of the sun dog. The atmospheric phenomenon occurs when high altitude ice crystals refract the sun's rays causing a 360 degree halo
Richard Wild, from Bournemouth-based weather forecasters Weathernet, said: 'Sun dogs, halos or mock suns are caused by the sun shining through ice crystals or cirrus clouds.
'Depending on the orientation and quantity of the ice crystals and the quantity of cirrus clouds in the sky, these ice crystals act like prisms bending the sunlight to result in a ring around the sun and, depending on the height of the sun, determines the shape of the halo.'
Cultures around the globe have traditionally given great significance and meaning to a sun dog when they see one.
A sun dog is believed to have appeared in the sky before the Battle of Mortimer's Cross, one of the most impossible battles during the War of the Roses in 1461.
The Yorkist leader, who later became Edward IV, convinced his nervous troops that the strange sight was a good omen and won a decisive victory.
dailymail.co.uk
Beachgoers on the Dorset beach gazed upwards on Tuesday to watch the beautiful phenomenon, which occurs when sunlight is refracted by hexagonal-shaped ice crystals in high and cirrus clouds.
This picture was taken from Bournemouth beach in Dorset by photographer Chris Skone-Roberts.
During the Wars of the Roses, a 15th century civil war between the Yorkists and Lancastrians, two rival branches of the Plantagenet Royal House, the Yorkist leader Edward, Earl of March (the future King Edward IV and the grandfather of Henry VIII) told his troops that a sun dog which had appeared in the sky just before the 1461 Battle of Mortimer's Cross was a good omen, and it led them to victory. The Sun later became used as a Yorkist symbol.
In 1650, in the Lancashire town of Bolton, a sun dog was spotted in the sky on the town's market day, leaving Boltonians - who supported the Parliamentarians during the English Civil War -believing it was a sign of God's wrath following the execution of Charles I the previous year.
William Shakespeare also described this phenomenon in Act Two Scene One of Henry VI, Part 3.
Eye in the sky: 'Sun dog' halo blazes over Bournemouth beach
By Daily Mail Reporter
21st July 2010
Daily Mail
It looks like a giant eye gazing down from the heavens.
But the spectacular sight of the sun surrounded by a mysterious halo is known as a 'sun dog'.
The phenomenon, which had beachgoers in Bournemouth gazing at the sky yesterday, occurs when sunlight is refracted by hexagonal-shaped ice crystals in high and cirrus clouds - and is quite common.
Bournemouth photographer Chris Skone-Roberts captured this amazing 'sun dog' hovering over the seaside town yesterday.
This picture was taken from Bournemouth beach in Dorset by photographer Chris Skone-Roberts.
The phenonemen is officially called a pathelia but is also known as a 'halo' or 'mock sun'.
The sun was partly obscured by high cirrus clouds. 'Sun dogs' are more commonly seen when the sun is low in the sky and not in the middle of the day.
Mr Skone-Roberts. 40, from Bournemouth, said: 'It was a nice day and I went with some friends to the beach.
'It was just after 1pm and I looked up and saw the halo around the sun. They're very rare and are not often complete.
'Lots of people were trying to get photographs of it on their phones, but that's not easy to do.
'I used a UV filter and managed to get a picture. You need a 10-20mml lens. It looked spectacular.'
A cloud passes in front of the sun dog. The atmospheric phenomenon occurs when high altitude ice crystals refract the sun's rays causing a 360 degree halo
Richard Wild, from Bournemouth-based weather forecasters Weathernet, said: 'Sun dogs, halos or mock suns are caused by the sun shining through ice crystals or cirrus clouds.
'Depending on the orientation and quantity of the ice crystals and the quantity of cirrus clouds in the sky, these ice crystals act like prisms bending the sunlight to result in a ring around the sun and, depending on the height of the sun, determines the shape of the halo.'
Cultures around the globe have traditionally given great significance and meaning to a sun dog when they see one.
A sun dog is believed to have appeared in the sky before the Battle of Mortimer's Cross, one of the most impossible battles during the War of the Roses in 1461.
The Yorkist leader, who later became Edward IV, convinced his nervous troops that the strange sight was a good omen and won a decisive victory.
dailymail.co.uk