This is how the mirage is caused: in calm weather, when warm air lies over cold dense air near the surface of the ground, the undisturbed interface between these two air masses can act as a refracting lens, producing an upside-down image, over which the distant direct image appears to hover.
The first mention of the "Fata Morgana" phenomenon in English was in 1818, when this type of mirage was observed in the Strait of Messina, between Calabria and Sicily. It is also commonly seen in high mountain valleys, such as the San Luis Valley of Colorado where the effect is exaggerated due to the curvature of the floor of the valley canceling out the curvature of the Earth. These mirages are also seen in Arctic seas on very still mornings, and are common on Antarctic ice shelves.
Superior mirage
A superior mirage occurs when the air below the line of sight is colder than that above. This is called a temperature inversion, since it does not represent the normal equilibrium temperature gradient of the atmosphere. Since in this case the light rays are bent down, the image appears above the true object, hence the name superior. They are in general less common than inferior mirages, but when they do occur they tend to be more stable, as cold air has no tendency to move up and warm air no tendency to move down.
Superior mirages are most common in polar regions, especially over large sheets of ice with a uniform low temperature. They also occur at more moderate latitudes, however, although in that case they are weaker and not so smooth. For example a distant shoreline may be made towering, looking higher (and thus perhaps closer) than it is in reality, but because of the turbulences there seem to be dancing spikes, towers and so forth. This type of mirage is also called the Fata Morgana or, in Icelandic, halgerndingar.
Superior images can be right-side-up or upside down, depending on the distance of the true object and the temperature gradient. Often the image appears as a distorted mixture of up and down parts.
If the Earth were flat, superior images would not be as interesting. Light rays which bent down would soon hit the ground, and only close objects would be affected. Since the Earth is round, if the amount of downward bending is about equal to the curvature of the Earth, light rays can travel large distances, perhaps from beyond the horizon. This was observed for the first time in 1596, when a ship under the command of Willem Barents looking for the Northeast passage got stuck in the ice at Novaya Zemlya, and the crew had to endure the polar winter there. They saw their midwinter night ending with the rise of a distorted sun about 2 weeks earlier than expected. It was not until the 20th century that Europeans understood the reason: the real sun had still been under their horizon, but its light rays followed the curvature of the Earth. This effect is often called a Novaya Zemlya mirage. For every 100 kilometres (62 mi) the light rays can travel parallel to the Earth's surface, the sun will appear 1° higher on the horizon. The inversion layer must have just the right temperature gradient over the whole distance to make this possible. In the same way, ships which are in reality so far away that they should not be visible above the geometric horizon may appear on the horizon, or even above the horizon, as superior mirages. This may explain some stories about flying ships or coastal cities in the sky, as described by some polar explorers. These are examples of so-called Arctic mirages, or hillingar in Icelandic.
If the vertical temperature gradient is +11°C per 100 meters (reminder: positive means getting hotter when going up), horizontal light rays will just follow the curvature of the Earth, and the horizon will appear flat. If the gradient is less the rays are not bent enough and get lost in space. That is the normal situation of a spherical, convex horizon. But if the gradient gets larger, say 18°C per 100 meters, the observer will see the horizon turned upwards, being concave, as if he were standing at the bottom of a saucer.
Superior mirages are most common in polar regions, especially over large sheets of ice with a uniform low temperature. They also occur at more moderate latitudes, however, although in that case they are weaker and not so smooth. For example a distant shoreline may be made towering, looking higher (and thus perhaps closer) than it is in reality, but because of the turbulences there seem to be dancing spikes, towers and so forth. This type of mirage is also called the Fata Morgana or, in Icelandic, halgerndingar.
Superior images can be right-side-up or upside down, depending on the distance of the true object and the temperature gradient. Often the image appears as a distorted mixture of up and down parts.
If the Earth were flat, superior images would not be as interesting. Light rays which bent down would soon hit the ground, and only close objects would be affected. Since the Earth is round, if the amount of downward bending is about equal to the curvature of the Earth, light rays can travel large distances, perhaps from beyond the horizon. This was observed for the first time in 1596, when a ship under the command of Willem Barents looking for the Northeast passage got stuck in the ice at Novaya Zemlya, and the crew had to endure the polar winter there. They saw their midwinter night ending with the rise of a distorted sun about 2 weeks earlier than expected. It was not until the 20th century that Europeans understood the reason: the real sun had still been under their horizon, but its light rays followed the curvature of the Earth. This effect is often called a Novaya Zemlya mirage. For every 100 kilometres (62 mi) the light rays can travel parallel to the Earth's surface, the sun will appear 1° higher on the horizon. The inversion layer must have just the right temperature gradient over the whole distance to make this possible. In the same way, ships which are in reality so far away that they should not be visible above the geometric horizon may appear on the horizon, or even above the horizon, as superior mirages. This may explain some stories about flying ships or coastal cities in the sky, as described by some polar explorers. These are examples of so-called Arctic mirages, or hillingar in Icelandic.
If the vertical temperature gradient is +11°C per 100 meters (reminder: positive means getting hotter when going up), horizontal light rays will just follow the curvature of the Earth, and the horizon will appear flat. If the gradient is less the rays are not bent enough and get lost in space. That is the normal situation of a spherical, convex horizon. But if the gradient gets larger, say 18°C per 100 meters, the observer will see the horizon turned upwards, being concave, as if he were standing at the bottom of a saucer.
A hot road mirage, "fake water" on the road, the most
common example of an inferior mirage
An inferior mirage on the Mojave Desert in spring
