WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – KSN News viewers have been capturing some pretty amazing photos of a phenomenon known as a sundog, mock suns or parhelia, across Kansas.
Phillips County sundog at sunrise on Jan. 12, 2024 (Courtesy: Tim Schrader) 
Reno County sundog at sunrise on Jan. 12, 2024 (Courtesy: Misty Cavanaugh) 
Sterling sundog at sunrise on Jan. 12, 2024 (Courtesy: Rebecca Hoffman) 
St. John sundog at sunrise on Jan. 12, 2024 (Courtesy: Matthew Ward) 
Dorrance sundog at sunrise on Jan. 12, 2024 (Courtesy: Brittyn Bushell) 
Ellinwood sundog at sunrise on Jan. 12, 2024 (Courtesy: Nicole Barr) 
Ellinwood sundog at sunrise on Jan. 12, 2024 (Courtesy: Nicole Barr) 
McPherson/Hutchinson sundog at sunrise on Jan. 12, 2024 (Courtesy: Hannah Meyer) 
Lyons sundog at sunrise on Jan. 12, 2024 (Courtesy: Penny Blue) 
Haviland sundog at sunrise on Jan. 12, 2024 (Courtesy; Wes Adams) 
Haviland sundog at sunrise on Jan. 12, 2024 (Courtesy; Wes Adams) 
Oakley sundog (Courtesy: Mary Stoecker)
Sundogs appear when the sun is rising or setting and is closer to the horizon.
Sundogs appear when sunlight passes through a thin veil of ice crystal clouds (usually cirrus or cirrostratus), and the ice acts as a prism, refracting the light.
According to the National Weather Service, the colorful spots vary from sundog to sundog.
“They are located approximately 22 degrees, either left, right, or both, from the sun, depending on where the ice crystals are present. The colors usually go from red closest to the sun, out to blue on the outside of the sundog,” the NWS said.
