Sun dogs

Sun dogs (or sundogs), mock suns or phantom suns, scientific name parhelia (singular parhelion), are an atmospheric phenomenon that consists of a pair of bright spots on either side on the Sun, often co-occurring with a luminous ring known as a 22° halo.

Sun dogs are a member of a large family of halos, created by light interacting with ice crystals in the atmosphere. Sun dogs typically appear as two subtly colored patches of light to the left and right of the Sun, approximately 22° distant and at the same elevation above the horizon as the Sun. They can be seen anywhere in the world during any season, but they are not always obvious or bright. Sun dogs are best seen and are most conspicuous when the Sun is close to the horizon.

Formation and characteristics

Sun dogs are commonly caused by the refraction of light from plate-shaped hexagonal ice crystals either in high and cold cirrus or cirrostratus clouds or, during very cold weather, drifting in the air at low levels, in which case they are called diamond dust. The crystals act as prisms, bending the light rays passing through them with a minimum deflection of 22°. As the crystals gently float downwards with their large hexagonal faces almost horizontal, sunlight is refracted horizontally, and sun dogs are seen to the left and right of the Sun. Larger plates wobble more, and thus produce taller sundogs.

Sundog (company)

Sundog is a marketing and technology company based in Fargo, North Dakota with offices in Denver, Colorado and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The company provides services related to marketing and technology to its roughly 75 clients. Sundog has clients in the engineering, manufacturing, health and technology industries.

History

Sundog was co-founded by Brent Teiken and Chuck Duffie in 1996. In 2003, the company merged with G.L. Ness Agency and BankShot Productions to form a holding company, Correlat. In 2006, the three companies came under one name, Sundog. In 2012, Sundog expanded to Minneapolis, Minnesota and Denver, Colorado. Since 2009, the company operated in Denver as 29 Stories, a wholly owned subsidiary.

In 2009, Sundog laid off 15-16 percent of its employees, citing the economic downturn.

Culture

Sundog was named on Advertising Age's "Best Places to Work" in 2011 and 2012, ranking 25 and 22 on the list, respectively. The magazine said Sundog has an "informal environment," including voluntary weekly meetings called "Monday Funday," informal discussions about new technologies called "Tech Talks," and monthly after-work parties called "Friday Four O'Clocks," which include performances by the agency's employee band. In an article for The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, the company's work environment was described as relaxed, with a casual dress policy and a modern workspace. In 2010, the agency was named the best place to work in North Dakota by the North Dakota Young Professionals Summit. Sundog has attributed its performance to a strong corporate culture. CEO Brent Teiken said such a culture is achieved through consistent company values, engagement, and culture planning.