Science.com: China's 2 sun effect not fully explained by science

Originally posted by wildespace
I don't know of any types of mirage that would crate an image to the side of the actual object.

I still go with the lens reflection / flare.

I agree with your first statement but not your second.

This type of mirage is easy to explain with a second sun on top:
www.flickr.com...@N05/3901263788
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/cc3fa9db7fee.jpg[/atsimg]

Now back to the side by side sun images. Lens reflection/flare has a problem. Find me an example of a lens flare where the reflection is equal in brightness to the original image. You can't, it doesn't happen. So that rules out that one image is the sun and the other image is a reflection. The sun doesn't appear anywhere else in that image nor apparently off the image. So that seems to rule out both the double sun images as reflection.

That leaves the most likely explanation as some kind of unusual atmospheric refraction.
One possibility is some kind of thermal forming the dark part up the middle splitting the sun into two images.
Another possibility is, the sun has already set, and both images are separate refracted images of the sun, though this second option would be easily checked if we knew the exact time of the recording and compared it to the exact local time of sunset for that day. How can the sun appear when it's below the horizon? Just look at the image I posted, that's how it happens.

And why did someone post something from Phage about a sun dog and not source the quote? I have to imagine Phage can tell this isn't a sun dog, enough other posters figured that out. Sun dogs have a 22 degree angle. The OP image doesn't.

Why don't they go with the obvious choice. No extra sun, no mirage, but the morning star venus. They've used that excuse so long, why change it now?

Originally posted by ldyserenity
Why don't they go with the obvious choice. No extra sun, no mirage, but the morning star venus. They've used that excuse so long, why change it now?

Do you have anything else to contribute other than snark?

I Seen it here in ontario in march i took a picture of it but i dont have that memory card with me as I currently am in california.

Originally posted by misterbananas
I Seen it here in ontario in march i took a picture of it but i dont have that memory card with me as I currently am in california.

How terribly convenient.

Could this not simply be the Sun partly covered by clouds? It's quite obviously cloudy and smoggy where this was taken. To me, I see one Sun with the top and bottom parts covered by clouds along with a thin strip of cloud going vertically along the center of it.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/964fa90f6090.gif[/atsimg]
The red circle is to show what I believe would be approximately the size of the full Sun were in not covered by clouds.

in regards to that two suns effect being a reflection of some kind I would like to say that as the HAARP devices are supposed to be heating up the upper atmosphere would not that heating effect act like a mirror and create an image of the sun on the upper atmosphere hence the two suns. As a new poster I apologise to other posters for not acknowledging their posts in regards to the HAARP heating affect theory but as I have seen the heat coming off the highway create a reflection of a water wave effect as a car went along the road I thought it just possibly the reason for the two suns. regards from quekinat

Hi all, I live in Adelaide, South Australia, today my partner and I saw what I can only describe as 'two suns'.
At the beach at about 16:00, conditions were slightly cloudy, clouds were moving across the sun, but was exposed a few times. Apart from when the sun was completely exposed (as it was too bright to look), I could see another circular body radiating or reflecting light just above it, although not as bright as the sun as I could look directly at it.
It was definitely separate to the sun, we discussed whether it could be the moon as it was of a similar size, but the light it was emitting was imo too bright, although Im not in any position to say what it was because I simply dont know! But looks basically the same as the images from China 'two suns'

I tried to get some pictures of it, but my camera phone didnt do so well...