BEIJING - Astronomers in China witnessed the simultaneous presence of seven suns in the sky, which quickly went viral on social media.
Footage taken by Wang, a woman visiting a Chengdu hospital, shows seven celestial bodies seemingly lined up.
Wang described the scene as mesmerizing adding that it entertained the audience for about a minute.
He said the incredible sight was visible from multiple angles, leading many to wonder if they were witnessing a cosmic anomaly.
However, experts have clarified that this is not an astronomical phenomenon but an optical illusion. The strange arrangement of suns was caused by light filtering through the laminated glass of the hospital windows, creating virtual images of the sun on each pane.
This phenomenon, known as perihelion, is a type of atmospheric optical illusion. Perihelion occurs when sunlight interacts with ice crystals in the Earth's atmosphere, usually in cirrus or cirrus clouds, which are high-altitude clouds made of six-sided ice crystals.
