Stargazers in China were taken aback recently after spotting what appeared to be seven suns in the sky.
Stargazers in China were taken aback recently after spotting what appeared to be seven suns in the sky.
Call these the magnificent seven.

Stargazers in China were taken aback after spotting what appeared to be seven suns as seen in a recent viral video.

In the mind-bending footage, which was shot earlier this month by a woman in a Chengdu hospital, the solar septet graces the sky like the view on some bizarro planet.

The seven suns are lined up next to each other and boast varying intensities.

The videographer, identified as Ms. Wang, said that viewers were transfixed by the trippy vista, which lasted around a minute and was visible from multiple angles, Jam Press reported.


However, this meteorological anomaly is actually an optical illusion caused by light refracting through a certain medium — in this case, the layered glass of a hospital window.

The seven suns are virtual images created by each pane.

Social media users offered their own outlandish theories on what caused the flaming stars to align.

"We've finally uncovered the truth about global warming," quipped one amateur astronomer on the Chinese social media platform Weibo.

"This happened because of a magnetic field glitch that made parallel universes visibly manifest," joked another space cadet. "The Cosmic Bureau has fixed the issue, and those responsible have been reprimanded."

The heliospheric heptathlon also blew up on Reddit, where users compared the phenomenon to the Chinese myth where cosmic archer Hou Yi shoots down nine of Earth's 10 suns to stop the planet from burning up.

"When Earth has astigmatism," joked another Redditor.

"So is this a system apocalypse or just a normal apocalypse due to horrible air conditions?" asked one commentor, alluding to China's rampant pollution issues.