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The Reason We Saw A Few Extra Suns In The Sky

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The sun did not have little babies overnight.

If you noticed a halo effect with two smaller sun spots beside the sun on Monday morning, there's an explanation for that.

It's called a sun dog, or "parhelion" -- which means "beside the sun" in Greek.

Sun Dog
A sun dog appears over Lemont on Monday. (Credit: Anthony Alvarez)
Sun Dog
The sun dog viewed in Park Forest on Monday. (Credit: Karyn DeCuir)
Sun Dog
The sun dog viewed in Tinley Park on Monday. (Credit: Tiffany Mucha)
Sun Dog
The sun dog viewed in Plainfield on Monday. (Credit: Jay from Plainfield)
Sun Dog
The sun dog viewed in Palos Heights on Monday. (Credit: Fernando Montoya)
Sun Dog
The sun dog viewed in Cedar Lake, Ind., on Monday. (Photo from anonymous CBS viewer)
Sun Dog
The sun dog viewed in Aurora on Monday. (Credit: Todd Skogen)
Sun Dog
The sun dog viewed in Mount Prospect on Monday. (Credit: Annette Trojniak)

It's an optical phenomenon created when sunlight reflects off small ice crystals in cirrus clouds during extremely cold weather.

Basically, the crystals act like prisms, creating the visual effect.

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