This is the bizarre moment the sky appeared to split between light and dark – leaving locals baffled.
Footage shows the horizon divided into night on one side and day on the other in Mandaue City, the Philippines on October 10.
One part was seemingly illuminated by sunset rays while the other had already gone into darkness.
The rare phenomenon is believe to be a split sunset – a spectacle that occurs when light scatters as the sun goes past the horizon.
Onlooker Leylan Romarate said he recorded the scene without using a filter – a claim supported by the video metadata that shows the original file, location and device.
This is the bizarre moment the sky appeared to split between light and dark – leaving locals baffled
Footage shows the horizon divided into night on one side and day on the other in Mandaue City, the Philippines on October 10
He can be heard saying in the video: ‘There is a line right there. It is day time and evening.
‘What is this? There is no filter on my phone camera.’
Speaking after capturing the strange phenomenon, Leylan said it was the first time he had seen the sky like that.
He added: ‘Many people saw this too, not just me. Is this something natural? I have never seen that happen before.’
Split sunsets occur when one half of the sky experiences daylight while the other part is plunged into darkness.
The line between the two is known as the ‘terminator’ or ‘twilight zone’ which is a moving line that separates the planet’s illuminated or daylit side from its night side.
The division happens due to the planet’s rotation, creating a gradual transition between day and night.
One part was seemingly illuminated by sunset rays while the other had already gone into darkness
The rare phenomenon is believed to be a split sunset – a spectacle that occurs when light scatters as the sun goes past the horizon
Split sunsets are generally the result of atmospheric conditions and occur when there are two contrasting air masses present.
The air masses can have different levels of moisture, pollution and temperature which impact how the light rays are scattered when they pass through them.
This, is turn, results in the sky splitting into two different colours.
It comes after British skygazers were left baffled in August by an almost apocalyptic vision in the sky.
Across the country, people watched in confusion as the sky, sun, and moon all turned a deep blood red.
Keen skygazers flocked to social media to share photos of the strange event, with one confused commenter calling it ‘totally nuts and spooky’.
Experts explained this phenomenon as due to wildfires over 4,000 miles away in North America.
Andrea Bishop, a Met Office spokesperson, told MailOnline: ‘Vivid and dramatic looking sunrise and sunsets were spotted in the UK, in part, due to a layer of wildfire smoke that’s been present in the upper atmosphere this weekend.’
She added: ‘Smoke particles from wildfires across the Atlantic have been carried over by the jet stream.’
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
