On a commercial flight recently, I saw a fascinating optical effect.
I believe I understand what I saw, but would appreciate confirmation
from experienced flyers out there.

We were at cruising altitude, mid-trip. The air was clear, except
for a thin haze layer below us, perhaps midway between the aircraft
and the ground. Visible in that haze was an image of the sun, cast
presumably by tiny lakes below us. Larger lakes didn't work - the
cast reflection would get too large and out-of-focus.

You all probably know about using pinhole viewers to see an eclipse.
You may also know that you can view an eclipse with a fragment of a
mirror, if it is small enough (or if you cover up most of a larger
mirror, leaving a small hole). It will project a perfect image of
the eclipsed sun on a convenient wall or floor. I'm pretty sure this
is what I was seeing from the air, projected on that flat haze layer.

My questions:

1) Has anyone else seen this effect? Is it well-known?

2) (the real question) has anyone seen it during an eclipse? Can you
confirm that it gives you an eclipsed image?

- Bo