Weird Optical Illusion Freaks Out El Pasoans During Odd Sunset

A weird optical illusion freaked out some El Pasoans during a very surreal sunset that occurred Thursday evening and had us wondering if the sun was setting on the east side of town.

El Pasoans are notorious for posting pictures of our city's glorious sunsets streaked in vibrant reds, yellows, pinks, and blue hues and are sometimes so otherworldly that they can honestly take your breath away.

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But last week, El Pasoans took to social media to question whether or not the sun was setting in the west or east side of town after witnessing a weird anomaly in the sky during sunset.

I have to admit that I, too, saw the rays of sunlight streaked across the sky and was just as confused as everybody else. The optical illusion even had me doing a double-take, looking west to make sure the sun was still there. (insert chuckle here)

It seems that I wasn't the only one that felt like I was living in bizarro land because El Pasoans took to social media to share their photos from all over the city, including McKelligon Canyon.

A brewing storm that day most likely caused the odd anomaly that took place on Thursday during sunset. Water droplets in the atmosphere, along with pollution, dust, and cloud coverage, created the perfect storm, if you will, bending light particles and reflecting long pillars of light across the sky for miles.

The result was an optical illusion that made it seem that the sun was setting in the east and not on the west side of town.

While some El Pasoans blamed a glitch in the matrix, we can all rest assured that the sun indeed does rise in the east and sets in the west, and this was just one of those weird instances where Mother Nature surprised us, mortals, keeping us on our toes.