Mystery solved.

I finally figured out what’s behind those mysterious white dots on my photos of the recent solar eclipse, done with the help of some astronomy apps on my phone along with a little time traveling.

I started with Google Sky Map and set the date to August 21 at 2:57pm, which was during the peak of the eclipse. I located the sun and lo and behold, there’s a bright star near it, the star of Regulus.

For a second opinion, I launched Star Chart and it too confirmed what Google Sky Map told me, right there in the constellation of Leo.

This is why I keep these apps handy. Google Sky Map is small and loads quickly for a simple view of the night sky. Star Chart has a more detailed view along with more detailed information than you can shake a telescope at.