A sunset can be a beautiful thing to witness, but a photo of one recent sunset has caught the attention of many confused users on social media this week.
The photo shows a sunset that appears to be split down the middle.
Uma Gopalakrishnan snapped the bizarre sunset in Charlotte, North Carolina, on July 13, and even captured video footage of the strange event.
Speaking to Live Science , Ms Gopalakrishnan said: “I had never seen something like this before. And I couldn't believe it when I did see it that night!
In the photo, half of the sky glows bright pink and orange, while the other half is blue and grey.
While this may look like it’s been photoshopped, the split effect is actually the result of shadows.
A blog by the Universities Space Research Association explained: “Direct sunlight (reddened by increased path length) shines on some of the clouds, but the shadow of the large cloud prevents direct sunlight from reaching other clouds.
“Only blue skylight reaches the smaller clouds within the shadow, so they appear somewhat blue or grey.
“In essence, the bigger cloud casts a very large, dark crepuscular ray.
"Keep your eyes peeled to the sky – you never know what you might see.”
