one of several bright spots on the parhelic circle or solar halo, caused by the diffraction of light by ice crystals in the atmosphere, esp around sunset
Also called: mock sun, sundog. Compare anthelion
Derived forms
parhelic (pɑːˈhiːlɪk, -ˈhɛlɪk) or parheliacal (ˌpɑːhɪˈlaɪəkəl)
adjective
Word origin
C17: via Latin from Greek parēlion, from para-1 (beside) + hēlios sun
Examples of 'mock sun' in a sentence
mock sun
This was a fantastic and very rare display of haloes and mock suns, or parhelia.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
This can create a pair of multicoloured mock suns on either side of the real sun.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
To each side of the sun there were a pair of bright spots of rainbow colours, called mock suns or sundogs.