A rare phenomenon that caught attention of several people living in Costa Rica left viewers stunned. Footage from earlier this week shows pedestrians in Costa Rica staring towards the sky as a vivid halo of color seems to billow out of a mysterious cloud.

Several residents of Costa Rica captured the stunning multi-colored cloud on video. The phenomenon, spotted last Tuesday afternoon, was visible in skies over a number of cities in Costa Rica, including San Jose, Parrita, Pavas, Escazu and Hatillo, providing a nice touch for the country's Independence Day celebrations.

Jessie Montealegre posted a video online showing the multi-colored clouds where the sky can be seen opening with rainbow colors. Colors of the cloud in the video are so vivid that they appear to be unrealistic.

Montealegre said, “Suddenly a massive amount of people stopped and stood still as they were astonished at how the skies opened up. It was a nice coincidence that the video was taken on Costa Rica's Independence Day”.

The phenomenon can also be explained by diffraction which occurs when small particles of water of ice individually scatter light.

Montealegre said it appeared to be a sign of God. It appeared as if the Lord was going to come through this cloud any moment.

The phenomenon is in fact not that rare. The multi-colored cloud is a pileus, or ‘cap’, cloud, and takes gets its name from the way it appears on top of the cumulus cloud below, said experts.