mirage
Sign in to savethumb|upright=1.5|Various kinds of mirages in one location taken over the course of six minutes, not shown in chronological order. 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. The word comes to English via the French (se) mirer, from the Latin mirari, meaning "to look at, to wonder at".
AI overview
A mirage is a naturally occurring optical illusion caused by light rays bending as they pass through air of different temperatures, creating a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. Understanding mirages matters because they reveal how light behaves in the atmosphere and help explain a common visual phenomenon that has confused travelers and observers throughout history.
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Article
11 sectionsContents
- Inferior mirage
- Heat haze
- Superior mirage
- Fata Morgana
- Night-time mirages
- Mirage of astronomical objects
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Bibliography
- External links
thumb|upright=1.5|Various kinds of mirages in one location taken over the course of six minutes, not shown in chronological order. 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. The word comes to English via the French (se) mirer, from the Latin mirari, meaning "to look at, to wonder at".
Mirages can be categorized as "inferior" (meaning lower), "superior" (meaning higher) and "Fata Morgana", one kind of superior mirage consisting of a series of unusually elaborate, vertically stacked images, which form one rapidly changing mirage.