<p>Yes.  A web search for "photo sun glint space" turns up a number of images, including this one.</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/ujSzR.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></p>

<p>(I really wanted to just say "Yes." with the photo, but it wouldn't accept it.)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-23T01:05:43.287Z
2015-06-23T01:05:43.287Z
Keith Thompson
<p>I think what this photo is actually capturing is the reflection of the sun off of the ocean's surface.  Were the sun over a landmass, I don't think this "reflection" would be seen.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-20T06:48:46.387Z
I think you nailed it.   The picture looked artificial to me and strangely cloudless, but your explanation makes sense.     Here's some more examples:   http://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2014/12/sunglint/15101880-1-eng-GB/Sunglint.jpg  http://heimhenge.com/skylights/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/2011-12-12-S2.jpg - google sunlight reflecting off the ocean from space for a few more.   It's sometimes called sun glint.
userLTK
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-20T19:55:23.893Z
userLTK, I like your first example, because you can clearly see the sunglint ending where the landmass begins.
BillDOe
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-20T05:45:42.390Z
2015-06-20T05:45:42.390Z
BillDOe
<blockquote>
  <p>"... Sun's reflection from southern Atlantic Ocean looks very charming. But does it really happen like that?".</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Exactly as shown in your Screenshot?, no.</p>

<p>Assuming a large reflective surface, like a calm ocean, you get a 'virtual image' where the Sun appears reflected from a point underwater; but the wavyness and imperfections make the reflection diffused.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/yJisn.gif" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/yJisn.gif" alt="Sun reflecting off of the Earth"></a></p>

<p>Source: <a href="http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/refln/Lesson-4/Reflection-and-Image-Formation-for-Convex-Mirrors" rel="noreferrer">http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/refln/Lesson-4/Reflection-and-Image-Formation-for-Convex-Mirrors</a> .</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-20T02:19:26.610Z
See also [Angular diameter of the Sun's reflection from the ocean, seen from Sun-Earth L1?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/29840/7982) and feel free to leave another answer if so inclined!
uhoh
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-02T00:19:39.913Z
2017-10-02T00:19:39.913Z
Rob
<p>Sure it does, and it's beautiful!</p>
<p>Here's a GIF from the YouTube video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WunH8bPPhP8" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Earth from Himawari-8 satellite</a> which I found in but any geosynchronous Earth observation satellite imagery will show this, such as the video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAlDMYyWPis&amp;feature=youtu.be&amp;t=2m30s" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Planet Earth in 4K</a> found in <a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/12094/7982">this now-deleted answer</a>.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/mPfJf.gif" alt="enter image description here" /></p>
<p>See also:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/23145/7982">this answer</a> to <em>Could a binary system of two planets with oceans reflect each other?</em></li>
<li><a href="https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/q/10436/6031">Are there measurements or calculations that suggest atmospheric ice plates would be horizontal to within 0.1 degrees?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://space.stackexchange.com/q/21587/12102">How could the recently explained “glints” seen by DSCOVR appear so compact considering the finite size of the sun?</a></li>
</ul>
<p>where the last two show even sharper reflections off of flat ice crystal plates in the Earth's atmosphere.</p>
<p>Here's an example of a particularly narrow reflection from the ocean, indicating fairly calm seas from <a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/29840/7982">Angular diameter of the Sun's reflection from the ocean, seen from Sun-Earth L1?</a></p>
<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Z9RPQ.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></p>
<hr />
<p>I just found this <a href="https://videosanimation.com/post/121373738567/animation-night-day" rel="nofollow noreferrer">beautiful Videos Animation for Education GIF</a> and though the conversion of science wavelength channels to false color is probably done with enhanced contrasts to highlight differences between structures rather than to appear realistic (which is what we see in apparently realistic photos made from weather satellites) it has the benefit of highlighting the reflection of the Sun on the water.</p>
<p>It certainly looks lot like this video at <code>02:30</code> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAlDMYyWPis&amp;feature=youtu.be&amp;t=2m30s0" rel="nofollow noreferrer"></a> where the caption says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A timelapse of Earth in 4K resolution, as imaged by the geostationary Elektro-L weather satellite, from May 15th to May 19th, 2011.  Elektro-L is located ~40,000 km above the Indian ocean, and it orbits at a speed that causes it to remain over the same spot as the Earth rotates.  The satellite creates a 121 megapixel image (11136x11136 pixels) every 30 minutes <strong>with visible and infrared light wavelengths.</strong>  The images were edited to adjust levels <strong>and change the infrared channel from orange to green to show vegetation more naturally.</strong>  The images were resized by 50%, misalignments between frames were manually corrected, and image artifacts that occurred when the camera was facing towards the sun were partially corrected.  The images were interpolated by a factor of 20 to create a smooth animation.  The animation was rendered in the Youtube 4K UHD resolution of 3840x2160.  An original animation file with a resolution of (5568x5568) is available on request...</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-30T23:57:56.880Z
is that last one a real photo?
endolith
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-01T04:19:14.787Z
@endolith Earth observation satellites don't have cameras that mimic human vision the way cameras on Earth do with their [Bayer filters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayer_filter). Instead they have color channels via a set of special filters optimized to produce data optimize for science content. People have to go out of their way to make images from space *appear "real"* to human vision, so your question would be just as fair under *any* weather satellite or Earth observation satellite image. Making realistic-looking images from space requires artistic and aesthetic skills.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-01T04:22:41.123Z
@endolith This image certainly looks like a false color weather satellite image, where processing has been optimized to make contrast between land, sea and cloud clear. That said, I can't provide a link back to it's particular source, so I'll remove the image and just leave the link to its source. For more on the problem see [Is the “Mars blue dune” actually blue? And what makes it so?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/28082/12102) and [Is New Horizons capable of making natural color photos?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/9966/12102) (great answer)...
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-01T04:23:09.667Z
@endolith and [Blue region in satellite image](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/20682/12102) (blue lava!) and [Why did the HiRISE camera team choose the wavelengths they did?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/588/12102) and [Why are the clouds white and Australia black in weather satellite infrared images?](https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/q/19230/6031) and [What are these echo-like artifacts in some SDO images?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/15370/12102) (classic example but for the Sun)
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-01T04:35:07.180Z
@endolith another example is included at the end, where they have changed the "vegetation" Infrared image channel from being displayed as orange to being displayed as green in order to appear more "realistic".
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-02T01:28:06.257Z
@endolith last one for now :-) and probably the one I was really looking for: [How does a spacecraft like Worldview-3 manage 29 different spectral bands? One giant filter wheel, or…?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/29562/12102)
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-20T02:17:41.203Z
2020-10-01T04:33:42.440Z
2020-10-01T04:33:42.440Z
uhoh
<p>Not really an answer to that specific question, but I think its neat that we could actually measure this reflection on exoplanets. </p>

<p>There is a neat <a href="https://aasnova.org/2019/06/25/how-to-find-exoplanet-oceans/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">astrobite </a> about a recent paper discussing ocean glint on exoplanets. They calculate how this reflection changes the overall spectrum of an exoplanet (with Earth as an example):</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/JJ9KW.gif" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/JJ9KW.gif" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>However, we probably have to wait some time for such observations:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Although detecting these oceans might still be too difficult of a task for JWST, the authors find that the next generation of 6 to 15 meter space-based telescopes (e.g. LUVOIR) should be able to make these kinds of detections.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-20T13:46:58.290Z
2019-08-20T13:46:58.290Z
SpaceCore
<p>Most probably not! But that being said, it also depends on "<em>how far</em>" you have travelled above the surface. The earth is surrounded by a multitude of different things at different levels from the ground, like clouds, smoke, satellites and satellite-debris etc. which we come across progressively on the outward journey. </p>

<p>At lower levels we may get a somewhat clearer view of the reflection, which typically would not be a complete spherical reflection but a bunch of rays/ glints, or a blurred bright light cloud. But as we progress further, most probably this view would be blocked out by the above mentioned factors. And in case of clear-skies too, a spherical reflection is highly unlikely considering the distance between the sun and the earth. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-22T08:06:27.660Z
2015-06-22T08:06:27.660Z
Riptide
<p>It's called <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/glossary/s" rel="nofollow noreferrer">sunglint</a>. This can be problematic for Earth-observing satellites in low Earth orbit. Such satellites typically don't take a "picture". They instead continuously scan the Earth a line at a time. This means the sunglint moves with the satellite.</p>

<p>You can see this effect yourself while flying in an airplane. Little ribbons of rivers and lakes can appear to be on fire. Here's a nice short <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXtwkqTx-2o" rel="nofollow noreferrer">YouTube video</a> that shows this perfectly.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2015-06-20T09:19:29.767Z
2019-08-20T01:12:12.577Z
2019-08-20T01:12:12.577Z
David Hammen
<p>The new <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/" rel="noreferrer">Google Maps</a><sup>1</sup> presents an actual view of Earth, with the current position of Sun illuminating half part of Earth in real time. It is quite an exquisite view.</p>

<p>My question is based on the following image:</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/qAayT.png" alt="Earth"></p>

<p>As you can see, Sun's reflection from southern Atlantic Ocean looks very charming. But does it really happen like that? If we travel far<sup>2</sup> from Earth, can we actually see Sun's reflection or it is just something Google added for aesthetics?</p>

<hr>

<p><sup>1</sup>: Yes, I don't like most of its new features too, especially when they <em>broke</em> several of the old ones. But that's a separate discussion.</p>

<p><sup>2</sup>: Although, the camera's supposed position would be close to geostationary orbit, I guess the reflection can also been seen as close as ISS or Hubble.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-10T04:45:35.687Z
So, is it actually sunglint, or is it, as @WayfaringStranger remarked, a virtual sunglint added by Google?
can-ned_food
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-20T06:55:16.263Z
I think BillOer nailed it, and looking at a few pictures, ISS is a lot closer so it doesn't catch a small ball of light like that, it's more spread out, but with the curvature of the earth, like a convex mirror: http://smsm2a2012.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/5/0/10506713/6545636_orig.jpg -  that makes sense.    The rough surface of the ocean is what spreads out and dulls the sun and the atmosphere turns it yellow when the sun is actually white.    Hubble, by the way, doesn't point towards the earth.  It's not designed to do that.  It's a very narrow focused lens and it couldn't capture wide angle.
userLTK
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-20T11:02:46.830Z
Looks like bad simulation. At 50° or more from direction of photon influx, that  circular glint *should* look quite oval.
Wayfaring Stranger
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-26T12:44:21.677Z
Come to think of it, isn't a glint always near 90° from the terminator?
Wayfaring Stranger
<orbit><the-sun><earth><light>
Does Sun have a reflection on Earth?
Farhan
# Does Sun have a reflection on Earth?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-06-19)

The new [Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/)1 presents an actual view of Earth, with the current position of Sun illuminating half part of Earth in real time. It is quite an exquisite view.

My question is based on the following image:

![Earth](https://i.sstatic.net/qAayT.png)

As you can see, Sun's reflection from southern Atlantic Ocean looks very charming. But does it really happen like that? If we travel far2 from Earth, can we actually see Sun's reflection or it is just something Google added for aesthetics?

---

1: Yes, I don't like most of its new features too, especially when they *broke* several of the old ones. But that's a separate discussion.

2: Although, the camera's supposed position would be close to geostationary orbit, I guess the reflection can also been seen as close as ISS or Hubble.

**Tags:** orbit, the-sun, earth, light

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: I think BillOer nailed it, and looking at a few pictures, ISS is a lot closer so it doesn't catch a small ball of light like that, it's more spread out, but with the curvature of the earth, like a convex mirror: http://smsm2a2012.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/5/0/10506713/6545636_orig.jpg -  that makes sense.    The rough surface of the ocean is what spreads out and dulls the sun and the atmosphere turns it yellow when the sun is actually white.    Hubble, by the way, doesn't point towards the earth.  It's not designed to do that.  It's a very narrow focused lens and it couldn't capture wide angle.  
> **username_3**: Looks like bad simulation. At 50° or more from direction of photon influx, that  circular glint *should* look quite oval.  
> **username_3**: Come to think of it, isn't a glint always near 90° from the terminator?  
> **username_1**: So, is it actually sunglint, or is it, as @username_3 remarked, a virtual sunglint added by Google?  

---

## 7 answers

### Answer by username_11 on 2015-06-20. Score: 16 | Accepted answer

It's called [sunglint](https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/glossary/s). This can be problematic for Earth-observing satellites in low Earth orbit. Such satellites typically don't take a "picture". They instead continuously scan the Earth a line at a time. This means the sunglint moves with the satellite.

You can see this effect yourself while flying in an airplane. Little ribbons of rivers and lakes can appear to be on fire. Here's a nice short [YouTube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXtwkqTx-2o) that shows this perfectly.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2015-06-23. Score: 15

Yes. A web search for "photo sun glint space" turns up a number of images, including this one.

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/ujSzR.jpg)

(I really wanted to just say "Yes." with the photo, but it wouldn't accept it.)


---

### Answer by username_5 on 2015-06-20. Score: 10

I think what this photo is actually capturing is the reflection of the sun off of the ocean's surface. Were the sun over a landmass, I don't think this "reflection" would be seen.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: I think you nailed it.   The picture looked artificial to me and strangely cloudless, but your explanation makes sense.     Here's some more examples:   http://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2014/12/sunglint/15101880-1-eng-GB/Sunglint.jpg  http://heimhenge.com/skylights/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/2011-12-12-S2.jpg - google sunlight reflecting off the ocean from space for a few more.   It's sometimes called sun glint.  
> **username_5**: username_2, I like your first example, because you can clearly see the sunglint ending where the landmass begins.  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2017-10-02. Score: 6

> "... Sun's reflection from southern Atlantic Ocean looks very charming. But does it really happen like that?".

Exactly as shown in your Screenshot?, no.

Assuming a large reflective surface, like a calm ocean, you get a 'virtual image' where the Sun appears reflected from a point underwater; but the wavyness and imperfections make the reflection diffused.

[![Sun reflecting off of the Earth](https://i.sstatic.net/yJisn.gif)](https://i.sstatic.net/yJisn.gif)

Source: <http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/refln/Lesson-4/Reflection-and-Image-Formation-for-Convex-Mirrors> .

> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: See also [Angular diameter of the Sun's reflection from the ocean, seen from Sun-Earth L1?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/29840/7982) and feel free to leave another answer if so inclined!  

---

### Answer by username_7 on 2019-08-20. Score: 4

Sure it does, and it's beautiful!

Here's a GIF from the YouTube video [Earth from Himawari-8 satellite](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WunH8bPPhP8) which I found in but any geosynchronous Earth observation satellite imagery will show this, such as the video [Planet Earth in 4K](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAlDMYyWPis&feature=youtu.be&t=2m30s) found in [this now-deleted answer](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/12094/7982).

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/mPfJf.gif)

See also:

* [this answer](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/23145/7982) to *Could a binary system of two planets with oceans reflect each other?*
* [Are there measurements or calculations that suggest atmospheric ice plates would be horizontal to within 0.1 degrees?](https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/q/10436/6031)
* [How could the recently explained “glints” seen by DSCOVR appear so compact considering the finite size of the sun?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/21587/12102)

where the last two show even sharper reflections off of flat ice crystal plates in the Earth's atmosphere.

Here's an example of a particularly narrow reflection from the ocean, indicating fairly calm seas from [Angular diameter of the Sun's reflection from the ocean, seen from Sun-Earth L1?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/29840/7982)

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/Z9RPQ.jpg)

---

I just found this [beautiful Videos Animation for Education GIF](https://videosanimation.com/post/121373738567/animation-night-day) and though the conversion of science wavelength channels to false color is probably done with enhanced contrasts to highlight differences between structures rather than to appear realistic (which is what we see in apparently realistic photos made from weather satellites) it has the benefit of highlighting the reflection of the Sun on the water.

It certainly looks lot like this video at `02:30`  where the caption says:

> A timelapse of Earth in 4K resolution, as imaged by the geostationary Elektro-L weather satellite, from May 15th to May 19th, 2011. Elektro-L is located ~40,000 km above the Indian ocean, and it orbits at a speed that causes it to remain over the same spot as the Earth rotates. The satellite creates a 121 megapixel image (11136x11136 pixels) every 30 minutes **with visible and infrared light wavelengths.** The images were edited to adjust levels **and change the infrared channel from orange to green to show vegetation more naturally.** The images were resized by 50%, misalignments between frames were manually corrected, and image artifacts that occurred when the camera was facing towards the sun were partially corrected. The images were interpolated by a factor of 20 to create a smooth animation. The animation was rendered in the Youtube 4K UHD resolution of 3840x2160. An original animation file with a resolution of (5568x5568) is available on request...

> **Comments:**
> **username_8**: is that last one a real photo?  
> **username_7**: @username_8 Earth observation satellites don't have cameras that mimic human vision the way cameras on Earth do with their [Bayer filters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayer_filter). Instead they have color channels via a set of special filters optimized to produce data optimize for science content. People have to go out of their way to make images from space *appear "real"* to human vision, so your question would be just as fair under *any* weather satellite or Earth observation satellite image. Making realistic-looking images from space requires artistic and aesthetic skills.  
> **username_7**: @username_8 This image certainly looks like a false color weather satellite image, where processing has been optimized to make contrast between land, sea and cloud clear. That said, I can't provide a link back to it's particular source, so I'll remove the image and just leave the link to its source. For more on the problem see [Is the “Mars blue dune” actually blue? And what makes it so?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/28082/12102) and [Is New Horizons capable of making natural color photos?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/9966/12102) (great answer)...  
> **username_7**: @username_8 and [Blue region in satellite image](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/20682/12102) (blue lava!) and [Why did the HiRISE camera team choose the wavelengths they did?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/588/12102) and [Why are the clouds white and Australia black in weather satellite infrared images?](https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/q/19230/6031) and [What are these echo-like artifacts in some SDO images?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/15370/12102) (classic example but for the Sun)  
> **username_7**: @username_8 another example is included at the end, where they have changed the "vegetation" Infrared image channel from being displayed as orange to being displayed as green in order to appear more "realistic".  
> **username_7**: @username_8 last one for now :-) and probably the one I was really looking for: [How does a spacecraft like Worldview-3 manage 29 different spectral bands? One giant filter wheel, or…?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/29562/12102)  

---

### Answer by username_9 on 2019-08-20. Score: 4

Not really an answer to that specific question, but I think its neat that we could actually measure this reflection on exoplanets.

There is a neat [astrobite](https://aasnova.org/2019/06/25/how-to-find-exoplanet-oceans/)  about a recent paper discussing ocean glint on exoplanets. They calculate how this reflection changes the overall spectrum of an exoplanet (with Earth as an example):

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/JJ9KW.gif)](https://i.sstatic.net/JJ9KW.gif)

However, we probably have to wait some time for such observations:

> Although detecting these oceans might still be too difficult of a task for JWST, the authors find that the next generation of 6 to 15 meter space-based telescopes (e.g. LUVOIR) should be able to make these kinds of detections.


---

### Answer by username_10 on 2015-06-22. Score: 2

Most probably not! But that being said, it also depends on "*how far*" you have travelled above the surface. The earth is surrounded by a multitude of different things at different levels from the ground, like clouds, smoke, satellites and satellite-debris etc. which we come across progressively on the outward journey.

At lower levels we may get a somewhat clearer view of the reflection, which typically would not be a complete spherical reflection but a bunch of rays/ glints, or a blurred bright light cloud. But as we progress further, most probably this view would be blocked out by the above mentioned factors. And in case of clear-skies too, a spherical reflection is highly unlikely considering the distance between the sun and the earth.


---

