Image above: Sundog and seagull  6D Zeiss 300mm+Mutar x2

A rare phenomenon of a Sundog casually showed up in my backyard this morning.
Sundog is a similar phenomenon to rainbows that occurs from ice crystals refracting in the atmosphere close to the sun.

For the past 2 weeks, the sun’s activity had been quiet meaning less chances of any auroras.

Tonight things are different. There is a chance of geomagnetic storm predicted from the influence of the coronal hole and the co-rotating interaction region (CIR), which is a “transition zones between fast- and slow-moving solar wind streams. Solar wind plasma piles up in these regions, producing density gradients and shock waves that do a good job of sparking auroras” (Dr. Tony Phillips spaceweather.com).

But unfortunately there is a lot of clouds tonight and the moon is bright with the waxing Blue moon (2nd full moon of the month), which makes seeing the aurora more challenging.

So instead, here are some auroras to enjoy. They were seen 4 nights in a row before the sun’s activity became quiet.

For further information
In English
July 11 13, 2015
http://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=115184
June 22-24, 2015
http://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=114289

In Japanese
July 11, 2015
http://swnews.jp/2015/swnews_1507151209.html
June 22-24, 2015
http://swnews.jp/2015/swnews_1506291103.html