parhelion

American  

[pahr-hee-lee-uhn, -heel-yuhn] / pɑrˈhi li ən, -ˈhil yən /

noun

Meteorology.

plural

parhelia

1. 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.

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parhelion British  

/ ˌpɑːhɪˈlaɪəkəl, pɑːˈhiːlɪən, pɑːˈhiːlɪk, -ˈhɛlɪk /

noun

1. Also called: mock sun.   sundog.  one of several bright spots on the parhelic circle or solar halo, caused by the diffraction of light by ice crystals in the atmosphere, esp around sunset Compare anthelion

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parhelion Scientific  

/ pär-hē′lē-ən /

plural

parhelia

1. A white spot appearing at times in the parhelic circle. White parhelia are believed to form from light that is reflected off of atmospheric ice crystals; colored parhelia are believed to form from light that is refracted by atmospheric ice crystals. Multiple parhelia can often be seen simultaneously.

2. Compare anthelion

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Other Word Forms

• parheliacal
  adjective
• parhelic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of parhelion

First recorded in 1640–50; alteration of Latin parēlion, from Greek parḗlion, noun use of neuter of parḗlios “beside the sun”; see par-, helio-

Example Sentences

Sometimes during the summer we see the parhelion, a similar phenomenon of the sun.

From The North Pole Its Discovery in 1909 under the auspices of the Peary Arctic Club by Peary, Robert E. (Robert Edwin)

Among the remarkable phenomena which came under the observation of the Jesuit Fathers in Mackinaw, was the appearance of a parhelion on the 21st of January, 1671.

From Old Mackinaw The Fortress of the Lakes and its Surroundings by Strickland, W. P. (William Peter)

The weather became fairly thick soon after noon, and at the end of the afternoon there was considerable drift with a mist caused by ice crystals and parhelion.

From South with Scott by Mountevans, Edward Ratcliffe Garth Russell Evans, baron

During the afternoon, the sun occasionally gleamed through a tract of cirro-stratus cloud and there was a very fine parhelion: signs of an approaching blizzard.

From The Home of the Blizzard Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914 by Mawson, Douglas, Sir

This vision, which in all probability was only a parhelion, exaggerated by a superstitious and excited imagination, produced a crisis in the life of Constantine.

From Roman Mosaics Or, Studies in Rome and Its Neighbourhood by Macmillan, Hugh