I think you've explained it perfectly yourself. 80 degrees is definitely not "narrow". Therefore the sun is extremely unlikely to be able to project a "small" image of itself (from 3000 miles away) onto the back of a cloud.
Unless the water molecules in the cloud were arranged in such a way that they re-emitted the light at a very well-defined angle relative to that which it was absorbed.
Are you saying that you think the picture shows a
Sun Dog effect?
I must remember that: Every time I see a sunset where the sun is not restored by a telescope, it's a Sun Dog; The real Sun is hidden behind "perspective". Quite a lot to swallow there!
BTW I'm not convinced you actually believe any of this, Osama/Robosteve.