In October of this year, hundreds of local residents watched over the Chinese province in the clouds the outlines of the gigantic dimensions of a ghost town. Thirty minutes of incredible sight made an indelible impression on all the witnesses, later all the TV channels of the world showed a video in which the silhouette of modern skyscrapers was clearly observed. The phenomenon of a floating celestial metropolis is called a mirage. More precisely, this is a rare but studied species, which will be discussed below.
Amazing phenomenon
Perhaps someone has already come across this phenomenon, bearing the beautiful name of Fata Morgan. What is it - we will consider now. There is a very complex form of the optical phenomenon, in which the most distant objects become visible, but distorted, like a changing picture. Fata Morgana is not just a mirage, it is its kind that does not stand still, but moves and changes the angle of its refraction. This phenomenon can be called a kind of aerial lens, inside which are the viewer and the illusion itself. And the observer will never come closer to the projected object, because at the same time as moving forward, a mirage also moves.
The legend of the ghost ship
There is one famous legend that reflects a natural phenomenon and tells of a ghost frightening sailors. The most famous ship called the “Flying Dutchman” has long frightened everyone who sees a sailing ship passing by, bringing, according to legend, death. Allegedly, the captain of the ill-fated ghost was sentenced to perpetual voyage in the stormy sea, and his ship always terrifies oncoming ships, not responding to signals and instantly disappears from sight. Sailors see the mirage of a veil morgan without suspecting it, and take the projection for a ghost sailboat. If we talk about vision from a scientific point of view, then thousands of kilometers from the illusion passes the ship, optically approximated by a giant lens. By the way, not a single description of the ghostly “Dutchman” was ever recorded.
The phenomenon of Fata Morgana. What is it and how does it arise (according to ancient legends)?
A beautiful natural phenomenon, known since ancient times, has generated many legends. Traveling merchants told scary stories about an evil sorceress luring her net with the beautiful name of Fata Morgan. His translation will literally sound like "Morgan Fairy." And she received such a nickname in honor of the eponymous heroine of the same name, the sister of King Arthur and experiencing the love drama of the rejected woman.
Legends say that in hot countries under the scorching sun the evil sorceress created with the help of magic amazing visions, pleasing to the eye of tired merchants. Lush greens and cool ponds awaited travelers on the horizon, exhausted from the forces of travelers. These fabulously beautiful air visions attracted caravans, which, turning, perished in the hot desert. It was believed that in this way the fairy avenges her insult.
Explanations of scientists
The phenomenon of Fata Morgana is an unpredictable miracle of nature. Researchers know everything about mirages and explain to the curious how they appear and disappear. To see them is a rare success, because the conditions for their education are not always and not always created. An optical illusion appears in the case of reflection of light between different density air layers that are unevenly heated. Less commonly, such an effect is formed with an unusual vertical distribution of air masses.
Scientists believe that as a result of the play of light and air, increased illusions of various objects in the air lens become visible, and an amazing picture of real objects is observed on the horizon or above it. Phantom phenomena are documented on film and video to conclusively prove that this is not a game of imagination.
Now, after acquaintance with the versions of scientists about the occurrence of a mirage, one can definitely call the unusual phenomenon precisely the phrase Fata Morgan. We have already figured out what it is, and it is clear that no fairy has anything to do with it, but the whole thing is a moving atmospheric phenomenon, which most often occurs in a hot climate, where the air layers vary in temperature. Warm air must be higher than cold, and only such an atmospheric “cake” creates a giant lens, and sudden changes distort the course of the light beam.
