Vädersolstavlan

Vädersolstavlan (Swedish for "The Sun Dog Painting") is an oil-on-panel painting depicting a halo display, an atmospheric optical phenomenon, observed over Stockholm on April 20, 1535. It is named after the sun dogs (Swedish: Vädersol, "Weather sun") appearing on the upper right part of the painting. While chiefly noted for being the oldest depiction of Stockholm in colour, it is arguably also the oldest Swedish landscape painting and the oldest depiction of sun dogs.

The original painting, which was produced shortly after the event and traditionally attributed to Urban målare ("Urban [the] Painter"), is lost, and virtually nothing is known about it. However, a copy from 1636 by Jacob Heinrich Elbfas held in Storkyrkan in Stockholm, is believed to be an accurate copy and was until recently erroneously thought to be the restored original.

Sun dog

A sun dog (or sundog) or mock sun, meteorological name parhelion, (plural parhelia), is an atmospheric phenomenon that consists of a bright spot to the left and/or right of the Sun. A pair of sun dogs often flank the Sun.

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 a pair of subtly colored patches of light around 22° to the left and right of the Sun and at the same altitude 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.

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