Stunning 'sun dog' light phenomenon appears over Rochester

• %27Sun Dogs%27 are officially known as %22parhelia%22
• Tiny ice crystals in the air create halos by refracting and reflecting light
• Snow dogs are part of an ice halo%2C which typically include the familiar circle around the sun %28or moon%29

Snow dogs. Sun dogs. Snow bows. Ice halos. Ice pillars.

Known officially as "parhelia," many area residents Wednesday morning spotted this wintry atmospheric phenomenon that are considered another version of a rainbow, but with ice crystals instead of water droplets, said Meteorologist Bill Hibbert of the National Weather Service in Buffalo.

Tiny ice crystals in the air create halos by refracting and reflecting light. They are formed high in cirrus clouds then float downward.

Raw Video: Sun dog appears over region

"You'll see them more so in the winter, typically when it's colder than 10 degrees and there are ice crystals in the air," Hibbert said. "The colder the better."

Snow dogs are part of an ice halo, which typically include the familiar circle around the sun (or moon) and are most easily seen when the sun is low in the sky, he said. The reflecting light, displaced 22 degrees to the left and right of the sun, are also called snow bows.

When the snow dog appeared, it seemed to light up social media locally.

Also spotted Wednesday morning were ice pillars, which are shafts of light that appear to be beaming upward, Hibbert said. The reflections are glints of ice crystals in the air.

Area residents are also likely seeing what's called "diamond dust," which are actually incredibly fine ice crystals falling close to the ground, Hibbert said.

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