At first this illusion looks like the earth from space… but you’ll soon work out what it REALLY is

A beautiful optical illusion has left Twitter users dumbfounded.

The image appears to show Earth from space as if taken from an orbiting satellite.

But while it might remind you of the cosmos — or the Universal Pictures credits — it’s actually a picture of something completely different.

The photo has caught the attention of social media users, including Flat Earthers, who have said the Earth’s curvature is “going in the wrong direction.”

The alien image has left people dumbfounded online. But can you tell what it really is?

Users were amazed by the beautiful photo, which is actually a rotated cityscape

Some suggested it resembled the Universal Pictures credits.

The skyline photo, which has been rotated, is actually an image of city buildings in low light – and was not taken from space.

The cirrus clouds and city lights help obscure what the photo shows, as the office lights look like stars.

One user said she couldn’t see either the curve of the Earth from space or the cityscape and said, “It’s all abstract except for some cirrus clouds!”

The photo is actually of a city in low light, with office and home lighting imitating stars. If you look closely, you can see skyscrapers

Another said he should have turned his phone over to see the city skyline.

Optical illusions like this happen when your brain tries to make sense of the world quickly. Often it will come to a quick initial conclusion before you realize what you are actually seeing.

Reflexes like this would have helped keep our early ancestors alive in encounters with fast predators, but optical illusions “hack” them, making us feel rather silly!