The day the sky split! An extremely rare phenomenon causes the sky to divide into light and dark. Can you find out why?
This is the bizarre moment the sky appeared to split between light and dark, leaving locals stunned.
Images show the horizon divided into night on one side and day on the other on October 10 in Mandaue City, Philippines.
One part was seemingly illuminated by sunset rays, while the other had already disappeared into darkness.
The rare phenomenon is believed to be a split sunset: a spectacle that occurs when light scatters as the sun passes over the horizon.
Spectator Leylan Romarate said he recorded the scene without using a filter – a claim supported by the video metadata showing the original file, location and device.
This is the bizarre moment the sky appeared to split between light and dark, leaving locals stunned
Footage shows the horizon divided into night on one side and day on the other in Mandaue City, the Philippines on October 10
In the video you can hear him say, “There’s a line there. It is day and evening.
‘What is this? There is no filter on my phone’s camera.’
After capturing the strange phenomenon, Leylan said it was the first time he had seen the sky like this.
He added: “A lot of people saw this too, not just me. Is this something natural? I’ve 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’, a moving line that separates the illuminated or daylight side of the planet from the night side.
The division occurs as a result of 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 disappeared into darkness
The rare phenomenon is believed to be a split sunset – a spectacle that occurs when light scatters as the sun passes over the horizon
Split sunsets are generally the result of atmospheric conditions and occur when two contrasting air masses are present.
The air masses can have different levels of moisture, pollution and temperature, which affect the way the light rays are scattered as they pass through them.
This in turn results in the sky splitting into two different colors.
It comes after British skygazers were stunned by a near-apocalyptic vision in the sky in August.
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 ‘completely crazy and creepy’.
Experts stated that this phenomenon was due to wildfires more than 4,000 miles away in North America.
Andrea Bishop, a spokesperson for the Met Office, told MailOnline: ‘Vivid and dramatic-looking sunrises and sunsets were spotted across Britain, partly due to a layer of wildfire smoke present in the upper atmosphere this weekend.’
She added: ‘Smoke particles from forest fires across the Atlantic have been carried into the jet stream.’