<p>Stellarium shows Mars close to the Sun and just above the horizon at that date and time. Unfortunately, Mars is only 2° above the horizon (and also on the other side of the Sun to the Earth), so it is very unlikely to be visible against the Sun's glare and through atmospheric haze (atmospheric effects are disabled in the Stellarium image below). Still, it's a nice photograph, but the light on the horizon is probably something much closer to home.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/7z1be.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/7z1be.jpg" alt="Stellarium image showing Mars, Mercury and Venus close to the Sun"></a></p>

<p>Stellarium</p>

<p>Note that local time is shown, not UTC.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-06T18:23:47.203Z
Compare Mars's magnitude to Castor and Pollux, similar separations from the Sun and in a darker part of the sky.
Mike G
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-06T18:31:24.503Z
@MikeG Yeah! I did wonder about that. Stellarium shows Mars as being just 2° above the horizon, so the answer is almost certainly "no".
Mick
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-06T18:21:26.267Z
2019-08-06T19:11:53.830Z
2019-08-06T19:11:53.830Z
Mick
<p>A quick check shows that the spot is diametrically opposite the Sun, which although not at all conclusive, adds credence to it likely being lens flare. </p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/W8Wb4.png" alt="enter image description here"></p>

<pre><code>import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

img = plt.imread('sun flare.png')[:, :, :3].copy()

s0, s1 = img.shape[:2]
X,  Y  = np.meshgrid(np.arange(s1), np.arange(s0))

x0, y0 = 163, 154
x1, y1 = s1 - x0, s0 - y0

R0     = np.sqrt((X-x0)**2 + (Y-y0)**2)
R1     = np.sqrt((X-x1)**2 + (Y-y1)**2)

red    = (6 &lt;= R0)*(R0 &lt;= 9) + (6 &lt;= R1)*(R1 &lt;= 9)

img[red] = np.array([1, 0, 0])

if True:
    plt.figure()
    plt.imshow(img)
    plt.show()
</code></pre>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-07T21:02:45.867Z
Good call! That's it.
Mick
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-07T21:12:26.040Z
"Diametrically opposite" means at the opposite end of a diameter of some circle. What circle are you talking about?
David Richerby
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-07T21:40:22.230Z
@DavidRicherby the circular rectangle is the 2D analog of the spherical cow.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-08T06:49:54.490Z
@DavidRicherby the circle centred on the centre of the image
Tim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-08T13:58:26.657Z
@Tim Every pixel of the image is on a circle centered on the center of the image.
Moby Disk
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-08T14:09:35.473Z
@MobyDisk yes, but not every pixel is opposite every other pixel on the same circle. See: [this image](https://imgur.com/wBehQoa). The red circle is centred on the centre of the image, and goes through both the centre of the sun (the blue circle) and the flare. My answer above may clear this up further for you?
Tim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-07T10:26:24.267Z
2019-08-07T10:26:24.267Z
uhoh
<p>Given your location, the bright light could be the sun's reflection off an aircraft coming into/leaving London Stansted  airport.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-06T19:47:25.230Z
Disappointing, but very likely.
Peter
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-07T10:59:09.047Z
Seems like a strange location for the airplane to be (it’s rare to see them so close to the horizon, and most of Essex *isn’t* near Stansted). It’s also unlikely for the light to reflect off towards the camera considering the sun is behind the theoretical airplane.
Tim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-07T11:50:24.357Z
@Tim not if you are near the flightpath.  I see flights coming into London City Airport that low every day.
Dr Chuck
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-07T11:51:42.037Z
@DrChuck sorry I should have clarified: it’s rare to see them that low if you’re not near the flightpath - and in this photo they’re a long way away from the flight path. It’s possible for it to be an airplane, but seems very unlikely.
Tim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-06T19:19:19.140Z
2019-08-06T19:19:19.140Z
Dr Chuck
<p>The only planet I have seen in broad daylight, and on a much brighter day than this with the sun much higher in he sky, is Venus. It was quite clearly visible, one didn't need unusually good vision to see it. I tried to pretend it was a flying saucer, but I don't think I fooled anyone. I don't know where Venus was on the day this photo was taken, but if the smaller bright spot we can see is a planet, it can only be Venus. Venus shows phases like the moon, and at closest approach comes within 26 million miles of Earth, closer than any other planet. It also has a high albedo because of its clouds.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-06T21:29:03.490Z
Venus is close to the Sun, but higher in the ecliptic (see my Stellarium screenshot). The object in the OP's picture seems to be in exactly the right place to be Mars (if my Stellarium setup is correct), but I don't see how it could be visible so low in the sky when it is almost in conjunction. Mars hasn't moved much, so it'll be in the same place, at the same time, tomorrow. I might go out and have a look if the weather's good, but I don't have a clear view of the eastern horizon. I shall need to drive to a fairly high spot. Venus will be 2° west of the Sun tomorrow.
Mick
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-06T21:33:59.010Z
Strange things can happen n the sky, especially under unusual atmospheric conditions. You might find it hard to believe that I've seen sunspots quite easily with the naked eye, but I have.
Michael Walsby
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-06T21:39:53.023Z
PS You can't see Mars by day, it isn't bright enough. If it wasn't Venus, it couldn't have been a planet.
Michael Walsby
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-06T22:48:10.873Z
Not much point getting out of bed, then?
Mick
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-11T23:32:14.797Z
"You might find it hard to believe that I've seen sunspots quite easily with the naked eye..." People who look directly at the Sun will often see spots, on the Sun, on their breakfast, in the middle of the road...
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-12T07:22:23.923Z
No, I saw sunspots, and so could you have done if you'd been there at the time. It was London in the winter of 1947 - 8. The sun was low in the sky, and very red because of smoke pollution. Lots of other people must have seen it, but not been interested. Time of day was lunch time. I don't normally see spots, and I'm not daft enough to look directly at the sun in normal conditions. As you know yourself, sunspots are unmistakable.
Michael Walsby
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-06T20:34:53.657Z
2019-08-06T20:34:53.657Z
Michael Walsby
<p>As an addition to the excellent answer by Tim, one can exploit this reflection to do some interesting solar imagery. Here's a picture I took with my phone during the (where I was, partial) eclipse back in August of 2017 (cropped to be more visible). The sun (as expected) is quite bright, and washes out everything - no amount of lowering ISO / increasing shutter would help on a mobile phone's sensor, but the internal reflection attenuated the light enough so that the shape is visible.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/mf7FW.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/mf7FW.jpg" alt="Bright sun with lens flare in shape of the eclipse (cropped)"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-12T14:34:26.123Z
@JanDoggen: I would argue it does help answer the question "Is that white dot just below and left of the Sun the planet Mars?" - by giving a more obvious example as to the fact that it's actually reflections of the sun on the internal optics of the lens.
Tyzoid
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-09T14:03:27.493Z
2019-08-09T14:03:27.493Z
Tyzoid
<p>That is a camera artefact caused by the bright sunlight reflecting within the lens on your phone. It’s more pronounced than on a large camera because of the small lens size. This is a secondary image of the sun, as the brightness of the source allows for the reflection to be still intense enough to be detected. </p>

<p>Here is a photo I took with the same artefact. It appears for me as a cyan dot with a magenta outside, but other photos I’ve taken have one with the same colour as the sun.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/g1SIJ.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/g1SIJ.jpg" alt=""></a></p>

<p>Notice if you zoom in on yours, there’s a halo around the artefact as well.</p>

<p>Also notice that the artefact is directly below the sun in my image, whereas in yours it’s slightly to the left. However, this is because in your image the sun is slightly to the right, and hitting the lens at an angle.</p>

<p>As <a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/32951">uhoh says</a>, you can see that the sun is the same distance from the centre of the image as the lens flare (or very close to):</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/xYnEH.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/xYnEH.jpg" alt=""></a></p>

<p>It should be possible to take a photo with the artefact wherever you want, by re-angling the phone - including inside the sun, where it will be drowned out.</p>

<p>I actually took my phone into an Apple Store to find out what this was, where they explained the lens flair effect. Unfortunately I don’t have a source for this, as it was in person. Hopefully the above is convincing enough.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-07T19:51:52.237Z
`I actually took my phone to Apple to find out what this was` how much did it cost?
stopkillinggames.com
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-07T19:53:26.717Z
@whatever nothing
Tim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-07T21:11:19.577Z
Actually, your "Mars dot" is distinctly to the left, too -- look at where the bright rays converge.
David Richerby
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-07T23:09:04.510Z
@DavidRicherby yes, you’re right it is slightly to the left, just less noticeably. I think it would still match up as equal distances from the centre
Tim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-07T23:39:19.020Z
+1 for the axis on the final image showing the relation to the sun, which helps explain [what lens flare is](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lens_flare) (a reflection).
brichins
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-08T12:41:56.147Z
You're right. I took a couple of photos of the Sun today, about midday, and there was the same bright spot in both of them, diametrically opposite the Sun. I was convinced my original white spot was Mars; especially given it was more or less where Mars would be.
Peter
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-07T07:48:26.473Z
2019-08-09T09:27:42.877Z
2019-08-09T09:27:42.877Z
Tim
<p>I live in Essex, England (51.7678° N, 0.0878° E). On 25 July 2019 (hottest day ever in the UK, btw), 06:43 BST, I took this smartphone photo of the Sun. Is that white dot just below and left of the Sun the planet Mars? I've checked with my SkySafari app and it looks like it could be Mars, but I'm just surprised that my relatively cheap phone could take a picture of the planet. Although the photo is quite dark, it was a bright day. Thank you.</p>

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

<planet><photography>
Does this smartphone photo show Mars just below the Sun?
Peter
# Does this smartphone photo show Mars just below the Sun?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-08-06)

I live in Essex, England (51.7678° N, 0.0878° E). On 25 July 2019 (hottest day ever in the UK, btw), 06:43 BST, I took this smartphone photo of the Sun. Is that white dot just below and left of the Sun the planet Mars? I've checked with my SkySafari app and it looks like it could be Mars, but I'm just surprised that my relatively cheap phone could take a picture of the planet. Although the photo is quite dark, it was a bright day. Thank you.

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

**Tags:** planet, photography


---

## 6 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2019-08-07. Score: 44 | Accepted answer

That is a camera artefact caused by the bright sunlight reflecting within the lens on your phone. It’s more pronounced than on a large camera because of the small lens size. This is a secondary image of the sun, as the brightness of the source allows for the reflection to be still intense enough to be detected.

Here is a photo I took with the same artefact. It appears for me as a cyan dot with a magenta outside, but other photos I’ve taken have one with the same colour as the sun.

[![](https://i.sstatic.net/g1SIJ.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/g1SIJ.jpg)

Notice if you zoom in on yours, there’s a halo around the artefact as well.

Also notice that the artefact is directly below the sun in my image, whereas in yours it’s slightly to the left. However, this is because in your image the sun is slightly to the right, and hitting the lens at an angle.

As [username_3 says](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/a/32951), you can see that the sun is the same distance from the centre of the image as the lens flare (or very close to):

[![](https://i.sstatic.net/xYnEH.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/xYnEH.jpg)

It should be possible to take a photo with the artefact wherever you want, by re-angling the phone - including inside the sun, where it will be drowned out.

I actually took my phone into an Apple Store to find out what this was, where they explained the lens flair effect. Unfortunately I don’t have a source for this, as it was in person. Hopefully the above is convincing enough.

> **Comments:**
> **username_10**: `I actually took my phone to Apple to find out what this was` how much did it cost?  
> **username_5**: @whatever nothing  
> **username_4**: Actually, your "Mars dot" is distinctly to the left, too -- look at where the bright rays converge.  
> **username_5**: @username_4 yes, you’re right it is slightly to the left, just less noticeably. I think it would still match up as equal distances from the centre  
> **username_11**: +1 for the axis on the final image showing the relation to the sun, which helps explain [what lens flare is](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lens_flare) (a reflection).  
> **username_0**: You're right. I took a couple of photos of the Sun today, about midday, and there was the same bright spot in both of them, diametrically opposite the Sun. I was convinced my original white spot was Mars; especially given it was more or less where Mars would be.  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-08-06. Score: 15

Stellarium shows Mars close to the Sun and just above the horizon at that date and time. Unfortunately, Mars is only 2° above the horizon (and also on the other side of the Sun to the Earth), so it is very unlikely to be visible against the Sun's glare and through atmospheric haze (atmospheric effects are disabled in the Stellarium image below). Still, it's a nice photograph, but the light on the horizon is probably something much closer to home.

[![Stellarium image showing Mars, Mercury and Venus close to the Sun](https://i.sstatic.net/7z1be.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/7z1be.jpg)

Stellarium

Note that local time is shown, not UTC.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Compare Mars's magnitude to Castor and Pollux, similar separations from the Sun and in a darker part of the sky.  
> **username_1**: @username_2 Yeah! I did wonder about that. Stellarium shows Mars as being just 2° above the horizon, so the answer is almost certainly "no".  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2019-08-07. Score: 11

A quick check shows that the spot is diametrically opposite the Sun, which although not at all conclusive, adds credence to it likely being lens flare.

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/W8Wb4.png)

```
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

img = plt.imread('sun flare.png')[:, :, :3].copy()

s0, s1 = img.shape[:2]
X,  Y  = np.meshgrid(np.arange(s1), np.arange(s0))

x0, y0 = 163, 154
x1, y1 = s1 - x0, s0 - y0

R0     = np.sqrt((X-x0)**2 + (Y-y0)**2)
R1     = np.sqrt((X-x1)**2 + (Y-y1)**2)

red    = (6 <= R0)*(R0 <= 9) + (6 <= R1)*(R1 <= 9)

img[red] = np.array([1, 0, 0])

if True:
    plt.figure()
    plt.imshow(img)
    plt.show()

```

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Good call! That's it.  
> **username_4**: "Diametrically opposite" means at the opposite end of a diameter of some circle. What circle are you talking about?  
> **username_3**: @username_4 the circular rectangle is the 2D analog of the spherical cow.  
> **username_5**: @username_4 the circle centred on the centre of the image  
> **username_6**: @username_5 Every pixel of the image is on a circle centered on the center of the image.  
> **username_5**: @username_6 yes, but not every pixel is opposite every other pixel on the same circle. See: [this image](https://imgur.com/wBehQoa). The red circle is centred on the centre of the image, and goes through both the centre of the sun (the blue circle) and the flare. My answer above may clear this up further for you?  

---

### Answer by username_7 on 2019-08-06. Score: 6

Given your location, the bright light could be the sun's reflection off an aircraft coming into/leaving London Stansted airport.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Disappointing, but very likely.  
> **username_5**: Seems like a strange location for the airplane to be (it’s rare to see them so close to the horizon, and most of Essex *isn’t* near Stansted). It’s also unlikely for the light to reflect off towards the camera considering the sun is behind the theoretical airplane.  
> **username_7**: @username_5 not if you are near the flightpath.  I see flights coming into London City Airport that low every day.  
> **username_5**: @username_7 sorry I should have clarified: it’s rare to see them that low if you’re not near the flightpath - and in this photo they’re a long way away from the flight path. It’s possible for it to be an airplane, but seems very unlikely.  

---

### Answer by username_8 on 2019-08-06. Score: 3

The only planet I have seen in broad daylight, and on a much brighter day than this with the sun much higher in he sky, is Venus. It was quite clearly visible, one didn't need unusually good vision to see it. I tried to pretend it was a flying saucer, but I don't think I fooled anyone. I don't know where Venus was on the day this photo was taken, but if the smaller bright spot we can see is a planet, it can only be Venus. Venus shows phases like the moon, and at closest approach comes within 26 million miles of Earth, closer than any other planet. It also has a high albedo because of its clouds.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Venus is close to the Sun, but higher in the ecliptic (see my Stellarium screenshot). The object in the OP's picture seems to be in exactly the right place to be Mars (if my Stellarium setup is correct), but I don't see how it could be visible so low in the sky when it is almost in conjunction. Mars hasn't moved much, so it'll be in the same place, at the same time, tomorrow. I might go out and have a look if the weather's good, but I don't have a clear view of the eastern horizon. I shall need to drive to a fairly high spot. Venus will be 2° west of the Sun tomorrow.  
> **username_8**: Strange things can happen n the sky, especially under unusual atmospheric conditions. You might find it hard to believe that I've seen sunspots quite easily with the naked eye, but I have.  
> **username_8**: PS You can't see Mars by day, it isn't bright enough. If it wasn't Venus, it couldn't have been a planet.  
> **username_1**: Not much point getting out of bed, then?  
> **username_3**: "You might find it hard to believe that I've seen sunspots quite easily with the naked eye..." People who look directly at the Sun will often see spots, on the Sun, on their breakfast, in the middle of the road...  
> **username_8**: No, I saw sunspots, and so could you have done if you'd been there at the time. It was London in the winter of 1947 - 8. The sun was low in the sky, and very red because of smoke pollution. Lots of other people must have seen it, but not been interested. Time of day was lunch time. I don't normally see spots, and I'm not daft enough to look directly at the sun in normal conditions. As you know yourself, sunspots are unmistakable.  

---

### Answer by username_9 on 2019-08-09. Score: 1

As an addition to the excellent answer by Tim, one can exploit this reflection to do some interesting solar imagery. Here's a picture I took with my phone during the (where I was, partial) eclipse back in August of 2017 (cropped to be more visible). The sun (as expected) is quite bright, and washes out everything - no amount of lowering ISO / increasing shutter would help on a mobile phone's sensor, but the internal reflection attenuated the light enough so that the shape is visible.

[![Bright sun with lens flare in shape of the eclipse (cropped)](https://i.sstatic.net/mf7FW.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/mf7FW.jpg)

> **Comments:**
> **username_9**: @JanDoggen: I would argue it does help answer the question "Is that white dot just below and left of the Sun the planet Mars?" - by giving a more obvious example as to the fact that it's actually reflections of the sun on the internal optics of the lens.  

---

