GORGEOUS EXAMPLE OF ATMOSPHERIC OPTICS IN SOUTHERN CANADA! (credit: Liana Berg)

DISCUSSION: As partly cloudy skies moved over and across parts of Central to Southern British Columbia this afternoon, some neat atmospheric optics came into play across parts of Southern Canada.  As clearly seen in the picture below courtesy of Liana Berg, you can denote what appears to be either a sun ray or a sun dog in the distance based on the tilted column of vertical light appearing to emanate from the ground up.  Sun rays are for more common since they form as a consequence of light peeking through broken cloud cover and being refracted slightly towards the ground.   Hence, we see a tilted shadow hitting the ground at an angle and spreading out slightly; making for beautiful scenery.  Alternatively, a sundog forms as a result of sunlight refracting through horizontal tilted ice crystals higher up in the atmosphere.  Hence, this was more likely to be the result of more simple sun ray reflection!  A gorgeous sight to the naked eye nonetheless! To learn more about other interesting weather-related phenomena from across Canada and the rest of North America, be sure to click here!