<p>It's a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lens_flare" rel="nofollow noreferrer">lens flare</a>, caused by scattered sunlight within the camera's lens system. It looks very much like one of the examples on the Wikipedia page:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/Qhddj.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Qhddj.jpg" width="300" /></a></p>

<p><sub><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3323354" rel="nofollow noreferrer">By Hustvedt - Own work</a></sub></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-09T16:12:28.437Z
2018-11-09T16:12:28.437Z
Glorfindel
<p>Guys what is that moon like thing inside the halo?<img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Tthdf.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-09T10:07:20.957Z
I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is not about astronomy, it may fit on either physics or photography.
gerrit
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-09T10:36:25.457Z
@gerrit the question is certainly about astrophotography, and there is a tag for that. But in this case the ring is an atmospheric effect and so would better belong in [Earth Science SE](https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/) if that were the topic of the question. However, the off-center "Moon-like" dot definitely/probably lens flare. Anyway I think the OP should feel welcome to ask questions about unusual things in the sky and someone should say that in first person...
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-09T10:38:20.017Z
@makanakamutasa Welcome to Stack Exchange! There are almost 200 different sites to choose from. I have a hunch that [Earth Science Stack Exchange](https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/) would have been better for your question since the ring is happening in Earth's atmosphere, not in outer space. You wouldn't have known that, it's taken me a long time to get used to so many sites. Don't worry if your question is closed. It doesn't mean it's a bad question, but only that it is not a good fit for this particular SE site. That white dot certainly seems to be just lens flare and that can...
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-09T10:42:20.600Z
@makanakamutasa (cont.) have all kinds of different shapes. It would explain why you don't see it without your camera (please don't look at the Sun!) and if you'd taken two pictures pointed at slightly different directions, the dot would move very differently than the Sun did. In fact, you could take another picture of the Sun on another clear day with the same camera and prove to your self it still happens.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-09T18:56:07.357Z
First,  please repost the photo with an arrow or some other marker specifying which artifact you're concerned with.
Carl Witthoft
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-10T11:57:03.293Z
@CarlWitthoft The only "moon like thing inside the halo beneath the sun" is that *white solid circle about 0.5 degrees in diameter, inside the halo, below the Sun, just about exactly the size of a full Moon.*
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-12T13:59:37.203Z
@gerrit Possibly already answered here: https://photo.stackexchange.com/q/42326
called2voyage
<the-sun><solar-system><photography>
22° Sun halo today in Zimbabwe. But there's a moon like thing inside the halo beneath the sun that cannot be seen with the naked eye, what is that?
makanaka mutasa
# 22° Sun halo today in Zimbabwe. But there's a moon like thing inside the halo beneath the sun that cannot be seen with the naked eye, what is that?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-11-09)

Guys what is that moon like thing inside the halo?![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/Tthdf.jpg)

**Tags:** the-sun, solar-system, photography
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is not about astronomy, it may fit on either physics or photography.  
> **username_2**: @gerrit the question is certainly about astrophotography, and there is a tag for that. But in this case the ring is an atmospheric effect and so would better belong in [Earth Science SE](https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/) if that were the topic of the question. However, the off-center "Moon-like" dot definitely/probably lens flare. Anyway I think the OP should feel welcome to ask questions about unusual things in the sky and someone should say that in first person...  
> **username_2**: @makanakamutasa Welcome to Stack Exchange! There are almost 200 different sites to choose from. I have a hunch that [Earth Science Stack Exchange](https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/) would have been better for your question since the ring is happening in Earth's atmosphere, not in outer space. You wouldn't have known that, it's taken me a long time to get used to so many sites. Don't worry if your question is closed. It doesn't mean it's a bad question, but only that it is not a good fit for this particular SE site. That white dot certainly seems to be just lens flare and that can...  
> **username_2**: @makanakamutasa (cont.) have all kinds of different shapes. It would explain why you don't see it without your camera (please don't look at the Sun!) and if you'd taken two pictures pointed at slightly different directions, the dot would move very differently than the Sun did. In fact, you could take another picture of the Sun on another clear day with the same camera and prove to your self it still happens.  
> **username_3**: First,  please repost the photo with an arrow or some other marker specifying which artifact you're concerned with.  
> **username_2**: @CarlWitthoft The only "moon like thing inside the halo beneath the sun" is that *white solid circle about 0.5 degrees in diameter, inside the halo, below the Sun, just about exactly the size of a full Moon.*  
> **username_4**: @gerrit Possibly already answered here: https://photo.stackexchange.com/q/42326  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2018-11-09. Score: 4

It's a [lens flare](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lens_flare), caused by scattered sunlight within the camera's lens system. It looks very much like one of the examples on the Wikipedia page:

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

[By Hustvedt - Own work](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3323354)


---

