We have become accustomed to the fact that the sun flares in satellite images point always south due to the polar (north-south) orbit of the satellite. Seems that it is not always so. Apparently we have got images also from other sources than Ikonos or QuickBird. The Mediterranean coast is full of images that are not north-south aligned. In fact there are many different angles. These images are from 2005. Wonder what the sources are.

saukko,

An excellent categorization of flares by direction. I have revised the Reflections and Flares category in the Data Errors Compendium to reflect your finding in THIS POSTING

Globally, I've only found one set in Formia, Italy which did not point in a southerly direction. I made a PUZZLE out of that fact, but nobody found them in Italy.