![]() Its name refers to Morgan le Fay, a mythical enchantress strongly associated with Arthurian legends. For example, the distorted image of a ship or an island may appear on or above the surface, even if the original object is hidden below the horizon.Ī "Fata Morgana" is a complex superior mirage whose appearance can change quickly and dramatically. When the colder air is lower (called an inversion layer), as it often is over large bodies of water or ice, the apparent direction of the mirage will be opposite that of an inferior mirage. Sometimes a mirage can appear to come from higher up than the original object. When light from the sky passes through it, a shimmering, fragmented image of the sky may appear to come from the ground, resembling water. In daytime, air near solid ground is typically warmer than the air above it. There are two basic types of mirage, depending on which direction the temperature changes, inferior and superior.Īn inferior mirage is arguably the most common type seen over land. This makes the image appear to come from a different direction than the original object. As a result, light tends to curve (or refract) towards the colder layer of air. This bending is called " refraction." Gases, such as air, become thinner as they get warmer. Normally, light travels in a straight line, but it will change direction depending on what it passes through. ![]() The words "mirage" and " mirror" come from the same root word, which means "to look at." It is caused by the way light bends as it passes through layers of air of different temperatures. When there is an atmospheric dip, celestial objects like the sun and moon can be observed at sea on the horizon.A "mirage" effect seen through sugar water.Ī mirage is an image that is distorted by the atmosphere so that its form and location can look very different from the actual object. ![]() One other optical illusion due to refraction which is closely associated with a mirage is the atmospheric dip. Beautiful atmospheric optical illusions like flashes of colored lights are caused due to mirage effects. Other rare mirage effects include night time mirages, astronomical mirages, late mirages, and mock mirages. Many interesting geographical optical illusions like the Fata Morgana, Novaya Zemlya, and Arctic images are due to superior mirages. The mirage image can be virtual, inverted, or erect. The appearance of an airplane on sheets of ice is due to this type of superior mirage effect.Īccording to the type of mirage, the number and location of images formed will vary. Superior mirages are a rare optical phenomenon. This is known as a temperature inversion. Superior mirages occur when the air above the ground is cooler than the air above due to cold conditions. Superior mirages form an image above the object, like seeing an image of a ship above the sea surface. The wavy appearance of the jet through the exhaust steam or gas created due to heat exhaustion of a jet engine is due to heat haze. When there is excessive heat, inferior mirages will shimmer and are also called heat shimmers or heat hazes. The mirage of a blue sky appearing as a puddle of water on the road in a hot desert or on a hot highway is an inferior mirage. Inferior mirages: The illusion of a reflection of a real object is located below the object. This misinterpretation leads to the optical illusion of a mirage.ĭepending on the image formation or perception due to light refraction, a mirage can be inferior or superior. Since the human eye perceives only straight lines, this bending of light is not observed and the brain thinks that the light travels from some object on the ground. When a light ray emitted by the sun first travels through the denser medium and then to the lighter air medium, it will get deviated or bent with a u-bend. When the ground is hot, it heats the air above the ground and makes the air lighter, while the upper layers of the atmosphere remain cold and dense. This temperature and speed difference of non-uniform media makes the light ray bend and change its direction, resulting in the refraction of light.Ī mirage occurs only on hot days or in hot regions. In the lighter medium, the air is more loosely packed, enabling the light to travel at a faster speed. In the denser medium, the air molecules are bound closely together and thus light moves at a slower speed. The main principle of a mirage is the refraction of a light ray or wave bending or changing direction as it travels from a denser medium to a lighter medium.
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