Chris Ilcilullin, age 13 of Des Iloines, Iowa, for his question:

What causes sundogs?

Sometimes we look up and see a pale ring of light around the sun. This is called a halo    and it is caused by the air above the earth. Sometimes a plain solar halo is adorned with extra circles and parts of circles. There also may be straight lines and sometimes two extra bright lines form a cross in the center. This is when we may be lucky enough to see sundogs. Usually they look like two baby suns one on either side of the big sun.

Scientists tell us that all these heavenly sights are created by tiny fragments of ice. They float very high above the ground and sunbeams must pass through to reach the earth. And those tiny specks of ice play tricks on the sunbeams. They act like mini mirrors to bend the rays and scatter them over the sky. We see this misplaced light as beauteous halos and once in a great while we see a mysterious pair of little sundogs.