Days after two suns were caught on camera in Taiwan, scientists are still having a rough time trying to explain what exactly we’re looking at.
Website “Life’s Little Mysteries” sought out expert advice from Jim Kaler, the University of Illinois astronomer, and he believes that the second sun was caused by atmospheric refraction.
He admitted, however, that the phenomena is not fully understood, reports Salem News.
“I doubt it’s been computer modeled. There must have been some blob of atmosphere somewhere that caused this truly spectacular phenomenon, which in a sense is a mirage,” said Kaler.
Not completely satisfied with his partial explanation, Mysteries asked Grant Perry for his opinion.
An atmospheric scientist at the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Institute for Satellite and Meteorological Studies, Perry admitted that he too is a bit mystified.
“This is not a common optical phenomenon that we’re seeing here. You would have to assume it is particles of ice or something in the atmosphere aligned in such a way that they would refract the sunlight at that very small angle, but only in one direction. It would require some fairly peculiar characteristics,” Perry explained.
However, some explanations offered by scientists are fairly down-to-earth.
“Many photographs are sent to me each year that look like the Taiwan sighting. Some have more than two suns. They are almost invariably artifacts, the result of shooting through windows or using plane filters on the camera.”
Key words are – almost certainly!