Unknown Phenomenon in Romania

In the following, I would like to give a brief description of the phenomenon. An arc, obviously white, elliptical or more like a loop, stretches through the sun. In shot 1 it looks the same size. In the second shot, it appears much larger and also somewhat inflated; moreover, some light nodes are particularly visible in the lower part. It is especially noticeable that the horizon in image 2 is tilted, but the arc is depicted straight. It is also interesting that the foreground in image 2 is different, but the middle ground (probably a peninsula with trees) is only slightly but visibly shifted compared to the background. The photographer may have changed his position by a few meters (?). The scale of both images is the same, as can be seen from the details in the middle and background of the images. The observation was made on the beach of Efornia North (?) at the Black Sea and was said to be in the morning. The phenomenon was preceded by an earthquake (magnitude 6.5 Richter scale) the night before (08/31/1986). At the time of observation, it was very hazy and windy. Now to the attempts at interpretation and explanation: Initially, it was suspected that it must be other crystals than ice crystals, as they have a different refractive index and thus would produce different phenomena. Salt crystals, which get into the air through the finest water droplets (which naturally evaporate in the air and leave the crystals behind), were held responsible for the phenomenon. Another theory: since the Black Sea is quite rich in hydrogen sulfide (present in sediments on the seabed), hydrogen sulfide H2S could also have risen to the surface due to the earthquake and was incompletely burned here. Sulfur crystals were released, which could have caused the strange appearance. What we are now missing are theoretical and especially chemical knowledge that would confirm or refute our considerations. Furthermore, it was suspected by M. Vornhusen that the photos were taken through a window pane. Contaminations/smears on the pane (similar to a smeared car window briefly wiped with a wiper) should have caused the strange reflection. The different size of the arc is explained by the different distance of the photographer from the pane. However, an object illuminated by the sun would have to be reflected in the pane, but nothing of that can be seen in the photos. Interestingly, however, a "window pane simulation" of the phenomenon by C. Hinz with circular wiping movements produced the same effects. The Romanians assured several times that the phenomenon was real and seen by several observers (but cannot be verified). So we drop the window pane explanation. Another explanation would be a reflection on mosquito or insect wings (which would at least explain the tilted arc in image 2) or the shape of the arc has something to do with the water surface. The sun reflects on it, and the reflection is the light source of the "halo". In an article (METEOROS 09/99) Attila Kósa-Kiss from Salonta/Romania describes his observation of a "Sky Medusa," which he also saw after the earthquake of 8/31/1986 on the night of 9/1/1986 around 2 a.m. UT. Among other things, he mentions the appearance of a small bubble between buildings and more distant trees, convexly curved upwards. It slowly rose higher and transformed into a large semi-circular dome. It was very evenly formed and seemed in bright, silvery-blue light in the dark night sky. Then on the right side of the dome, an arm-like section formed that was a little away from the dome. After a few minutes, the appearance shrank and faded. Furthermore, he describes strange light phenomena seen and photographed during an earthquake series 1965-1967 in Japan. These resembled the phenomenon he himself saw. Perhaps the "Romanian halo" and also the Sky Medusa or the other mentioned light phenomena (in shape, position, variable size) are nothing more than the directly observed combustion of variously sized gas bubbles from H2S or other gases, released in connection with an earthquake? Most likely, however, as an explanation for the "Romanian halo," a lens error or a dirty or smeared lens comes into question. Image 2 shows a tilted horizon (camera was held at an angle), yet the arc still appeared straight in the picture. In a real appearance, it should also have been depicted tilted. Earlier, lenses with plastic lenses were quite common in the Eastern Bloc and met simple standards. So it seems plausible that a camera with plastic lenses was used, and the peculiar reflection was due to the material used and possibly poor workmanship. When holding the camera at an angle, the sun shines at a different angle on the possibly existing contamination/smear, so that the arc in the 2nd image is larger than in the other images. Thus, there seems to be a similarity of the "Romanian halo" with some real halos, in that they change shape and appearance with different sun positions. This is a summary of the thoughts expressed by some members of the "Chemnitz Astronomy Circle" and SHB members. Although the last point seems closest to reality, we also wanted to introduce other, alternative attempts at interpretation and now publicly discuss the whole matter here.