Rare sun dog rainbow spotted in sky above Seaham

A stunning circle which appeared in the sky over Seaham was caught on camera.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Echo reader Rob Whitehead sent us these pictures of the sight he caught yesterday, Monday, June 8.

“This afternoon, I photographed what looked like a huge, white, ring-shaped cloud over our house in Seaham,” he said.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Unfortunately, I wasn't able to capture the entire circle in one image, as it was simply too big, but I've attached three images of different parts of the circle.

Rob Whitehead sent us the picturesRob Whitehead sent us the pictures
Rob Whitehead sent us the pictures

“I've never seen anything like it before and wonder if any Echo readers could offer an explanation.

“It definitely wasn't anything to do with any aircraft, but beyond that I can't really offer any kind of answer, other than it possibly being something to do with the Sun reflecting through the clouds or ice crystals creating a kind of white rainbow or something.

“It was quite spectacular, that's for sure.”

Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said the was a ‘sun dog’, a phenomenon similar to a rainbow.

Did you see it?Did you see it?
Did you see it?
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It is caused by the refraction of light through high-level clouds, clouds which are full of ice crystals,” he said.

“Sometimes you get the complete circle, if the angle is right, but it looks as though this is a bit early in the day.

“This is a big one – quite often you are able to get the whole thing in the picture from further away, but because the sun is high in the sky, in this case he’s only been able to get a section of it.”

A message from the Editor:

The sun dog is caused by light refracting through ice crystalsThe sun dog is caused by light refracting through ice crystals
The sun dog is caused by light refracting through ice crystals

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you

How to subscribe to the print edition

It’s easy to subscribe to your local newspaper. We have arranged a special 20 per cent off subscription offer for people to take advantage of. Visit www.localsubsplus.co.uk, choose the newspaper title, the type of subscription and enter your details.

Related topics: