I think the point that Javid is making is not that the sun has to be off, but rather to estimate the amount of light from all other sources. You may note that in a previous post in another thread he referred to a place a few tens of thousands of AU away from the Sun, where illumination from the sun was equaled by the light of everything else.

While I don't think there is a special significance to this sphere physically, or operationally for a spacecraft, it is an interesting place to think about.

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Forming opinions as we speak