David Morris was taking a walk along the coast near Falmouth, Cornwall, in the UK, when he saw what looked to be a large tanker hovering in the air above the horizon. He documented what he witnessed with several photographs. Apparently, Mr. Morris saw a “superior mirage” also known as a Fata Morgana.
The BBC quotes meteorologist David Braine said the “superior mirage” occurred because of “special atmospheric conditions that bend light”.
He said the illusion is common in the Arctic, but can appear “very rarely” in the UK during winter.
Mr. Morris said he was “stunned” after capturing the picture while looking out to sea from the hamlet of Gillan
Mr. Braine said: “Superior mirages occur because of the weather condition known as a temperature inversion, where cold air lies close to the sea with warmer air above it.
“Since cold air is denser than warm air, it bends light towards the eyes of someone standing on the ground or on the coast, changing how a distant object appears.
Fata Morgana is an Italian term named after the Arthurian sorceress Morgan le Fay, from a belief that these mirages, often seen in the Strait of Messina, were fairy castles in the air or false land created by her witchcraft to lure sailors to their deaths.
This type of mirage is responsible for all kinds of unusual sightings, from mountains in the middle of the ocean to ships that appear to be flying, and it may even be the source of the legend of the Flying Dutchman.
What is Superior Mirage? Why the Ship looks Floating?
Thanks to Larry Witmer for contributing to this post.
If only it were true and not a distortion
Would have been better if posted on April 1st
Sitting on the pebble beach at Hastings, on the English south coast, about two feet above sea level, we suddenly realised that we could clearly see the coast of France, about fifty miles away. Every tree, hedge ,field, building, as if it were just across a little river estuary. Astonishing. I later read that this had been recorded in the past as a notable event, with the townspeople hurrying down to the seafront to witness it. It certainly wasn’t April 1st. A fairly common sight to see ships flying like this but not whole stretches of a distant land.
Wow Mike that must have been amazing
I was surprised to see the coast of France when I climbed to the top of the old Dungeness lighthouse a distance of about 50 miles.
Also, there is a saying in Calais (where the two coasts are much closer) that if you can’t see England it is because it is raining and if you can see England it is going to rain.
Farley Mowat in WestViking argued that superior mirages were deliberately used by Vikings in plotting a course from island to island when the next landfall was beyond the horizon, as is the case between Iceland and Greenland, and Greenland and Newfoundland. They climbed hills or mountains to ascertain that there indeed was land and to confirm their course to steer. The phenomenon is not as rare as suggested in the article and video. I did not credit it until I saw a many times magnified image of a cruise ship appear over the horizon, grossly out proportion to what could be expected normally. Just as Mowat said, I was essentially looking OVER the horizon through a lens of air.