Viewers were wowed by the appearance of seven suns in China
In a rare occurrence, residents in China recently witnessed what looked like seven suns in the sky simultaneously.
The video was filmed in the city of Chengdu, in the southwestern Sichuan province of China.
Ms. Wang filmed the video on August 18th.
Unsurprisingly, six extra suns haven’t actually appeared in the sky. Instead, this rare phenomenon occurred when light refracted through window panes on a hospital, creating the appearance of duplicate suns.
Seven "suns"🌞appeared in the sky of Chengdu, SW #China's Sichuan on Monday. The stunning phenomenon is likely a result of light refraction and scattering. pic.twitter.com/iN4ejMlbIT
— Shanghai Daily (@shanghaidaily) August 20, 2024
In nature, a similar occurrence called a parhelion can occur. When the sun is low on the horizon, light refracts through ice crystals in the atmosphere.
It refracts the sunlight like a prism creating two small bright spots on either side of the sun.
This extraordinary sight quickly went viral on social media in China, before spreading outside the country too.
Thousands of people shared photos and videos of the rare sight, with many joking about what caused it. Inside China and outside many referenced the Chinese legend of Hou Yi.
The hero Hou Yi was a legendary archer, and to save the earth from scorching heat shot down nine of the ten suns in that existed in the sky. The gods rewarded him for his actions by gifting him an elixir of immortality.
It continues, with the rest of the story being the legend that inspires China’s Mid-Autumn festival. He refused to take the elixir, wishing to spend his time with his wife Chang’e.
However, when Hou Yi’s apprentice, Feng Meng, attempted to steal the elixir for himself. Chang’e drank the elixir to prevent it from falling into the hands of Feng Meng.
Chang’e became immortal and floated up into the sky. Choosing the moon to be her new home in order to look down upon her husband.
From then on, at mid-autumn, Hou Yi would lay out cakes and food for his wife. Looking up at the moon hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but unable to meet.
If you liked this article, why not read: “You swan, he frog”: Heartbroken foreign blogger finds comfort in Chinglish goodwill messages
