Okay, how is this possible? A video released by Russian State media shows a series of moons spotted above the city of St. Petersburg. The phenomenon is believed to occur through the process of paraselene. Take a look: Four moons appear over Russia’s St. Petersburg The spectacle, known as a paraselene, was created by moonlight bending through ice crystals in the frosty atmosphere pic.twitter.com/J5C5h4uDx8 — RT (@RT_com) February 1, 2026 The Hindustan Times had these details to share on the rare moment: Skywatchers in Russia’s St. Petersburg witnessed an unusual celestial sight when four moons appeared in the night sky. The rare event was reportedly spotted on Sunday night and its clips quickly drew attention online. Users shared their amazement at the glowing formation above the Russian city. The striking sight left many stargazers stunned as bright shapes seemed to flank the Moon, creating the illusion of multiple lunar bodies. Here’s a photo of it from a distance: 4 Moons spotted over Odessa, this is a unique optical phenomenon due to severe frosts. pic.twitter.com/T8qjmcnXPq — MoloMonitor (@MoloWarMonitor) February 1, 2026 NDTV gave a scientific explanation of the phenomenon: Paraselene is a phenomenon that creates the illusion of multiple moons along with the main Moon. The “extra” moons appear as bright spots on either side of the real moon. As explained by Collins Dictionary, it is a moonlike optical illusion which is caused by moonlight passing through ice crystals in the upper atmosphere. Stunned users rushed to the comment section and started their probe, asking Grok, the free AI assistant designed by xAI, to find more about it. “Yes, it’s real. This is a paraselene (moon dog), an optical illusion caused by moonlight refracting through ice crystals in the atmosphere, creating “mock moons.” It was observed in St. Petersburg on Feb 1, 2026, as reported by multiple sources,” Grok responded, confirming it. But in another response, Grok said it was likely a “train of Starlink satellites”. “The report calls it paraselene (moon dogs from ice crystal refraction), but the video’s sequential emergence fits satellites better than a static halo effect. Cool sight either way!” it added.