A video on TikTok shows a plane that appears to be suspended and floating in the air, but not in the usual way you might think. Take a look for yourself in the video below.
It's bizarre, right?
Obviously, aeroplanes can't just hover where they are in the sky. That defies the laws of science.
So, what on earth is going on?
Truth be told, we can't really be sure, because this is just a video from TikTok. It's likely that the plane is moving, but is caught in a very strong headwind that means it appears from the ground to be hovering above in suspension.
One person commented: "He is coming in at head wind he is moving just the wind coming at him is enough to keep him up and stay on course [sic]."
That seems fair enough, but it's still bizarre.
Given the power of jet engines, you might think they'd be able to overpower almost any wind, but this video seems to prove otherwise.
Another person commented: "Relative wind equal to indicated air speed, ground speed equal to zero."
Again, we don't know if any of these people are aeronautical scientists, or even have ever been on a plane - they're just comments on TikTok. But it sounds plausible, doesn't it?
One less plausible theory came from another person who just commented: "He is waiting for the light to turn green."
Anyway, this isn't the first time this bizarre type of optical illusion has been spotted.
Earlier this year, a woman who was flying on another plane saw an aircraft that seemed to be suspended in thin air, floating stationary on the spot.
Amber Baker spotted the plane, then shared a video in which she said: "Ok guys, tell me I am not tripping right now.
"The plane is not moving. It's so crazy. It's so strange. What is happening?"
However, on this occasion, there was an actual answer.
Metro's science and technology reporter Jeff Parsons was commenting on another video showing a suspended plane from a moving car, and he wrote: "In all likelihood the motion of the car is counteracting the slowing down of the plane - possibly as it comes in to land.
"Add to that the shifting perspective of the camera and it could seem as if the plane was stationary in the air."
So, not the wind in that case.
It's confusing, but sometimes the world can be a bit like that. Let's just marvel and the optical illusion and maintain our ignorant bliss, shall we?
Featured Image Credit: TikTokTopics: Science, travel, Technology, Weird, TikTok