nounplural noun parhelia/pɑːˈhiːlɪə/
A bright spot in the sky appearing on either side of the sun, formed by refraction of sunlight through ice crystals high in the atmosphere.
‘Haloes may be accompanied by a whole array of circumzenithal arcs and parhelion (mock suns).’- ‘By the riverside he seized on a sign: three suns in the sky (a rare astrological phenomenon known as a parhelion) to inspire in his troops and himself a moment of intense self-belief.’
Origin
Late 16th century via Latin from Greek parhelion, from para- ‘beside’ + hēlios ‘sun’.
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