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A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. [1] The word comes to English via the French (se) mirer , from the Latin mirari , meaning "to look at, to wonder at".
A mock mirage of the setting Sun. A mirage of an astronomical object is a meteorological optical phenomenon, in which light rays are bent to produce distorted or multiple images of an astronomical object. The mirages might be observed for such celestial objects as the Sun, the Moon, the planets, bright stars, and very bright comets.
The island shape is not distorted, but is elevated. The middle frame shows looming with towering. The lowest frame is a 5-image superior mirage of the islands. As the image shows, the different refraction phenomena are not independent from each other and may occur together as a combination, depending on atmospheric conditions. [2]
Diagram showing displacement of the Sun's image at sunrise and sunset Comparison of inferior and superior mirages due to differing air refractive indices, n. Atmospheric refraction is the deviation of light or other electromagnetic wave from a straight line as it passes through the atmosphere due to the variation in air density as a function of height. [1]
Slowly the mirage began to fade away, to the disappointment of thousands who crowded the roofs of houses and office buildings. A bank of clouds was the cause of the disappearance of the mirage. A close examination of the map showed the mirage did not cause the slightest distortion, the gradual rise of the city from the water being rendered ...
Image credits: Mirage news ... However, scientists are now copying a technique used by lobster eyes to gain better X-ray vision.Instead of refraction, or the bending of light by a lens, lobsters ...
The Novaya Zemlya effect is a polar mirage caused by high refraction of sunlight between atmospheric thermoclines. The Novaya Zemlya effect will give the impression that the sun is rising earlier or setting later than it actually should (astronomically speaking). [ 42 ]
Common optical phenomena are often due to the interaction of light from the Sun or Moon with the atmosphere, clouds, water, dust, and other particulates. One common example is the rainbow , when light from the Sun is reflected and refracted by water droplets.