Interesting facts about mirages Is a great opportunity to learn more about optical phenomena in nature. Many different legends and traditions are associated with mirages. Scientists were able to provide an explanation for such phenomena relatively recently, pointing out the reasons for their appearance from a scientific point of view.
So, here are the most interesting facts about mirages.
- A mirage appears under those circumstances when light is reflected from layers of air of varying degrees of density and different temperatures.
- Mirages appear as if over a hot surface.
- Fata morgana is not synonymous with mirage. In fact, this is only one of its types.
- When a mirage occurs in cold weather conditions, a person can notice phenomena beyond the horizon.
- An interesting fact is that the myths associated with flying ships appeared thanks to mirages.
- There are many cases of descriptions of volumetric mirages, in which the observer is able to see himself at close range. Such phenomena occur when water vapor prevails in the air.
- The most difficult and rare type of mirage is considered to be a moving fata morgana.
- The most colorful and well-distinguishable mirages are recorded in Alaska (USA) (see interesting facts about Alaska).
- Every person can see the ordinary mirages that periodically appear over the hot asphalt.
- In the African desert of Erg-er-Ravi, mirages have killed many wanderers who "saw" oases allegedly located in visible proximity. At the same time, in reality, the oases were located hundreds of kilometers from travelers.
- There are many testimonies in history that spoke of large groups of people who saw mirages in the form of large cities in the skies.
- In the Russian Federation (see interesting facts about Russia), mirages often appear above the surface of Lake Baikal.
- Did you know that a mirage can be artificially recreated?
- Side mirages can appear due to wall heating. There is a known case when the smooth concrete wall of the fortress suddenly sparkled like a mirror, after which it began to reflect the surrounding objects in itself. During the heat, the mirage occurred whenever the wall was warmed up by the sun's rays.
