Alright, so check this out! FATA MORGANA is this wild optical illusion that happens when you're standing on land, looking out over the ocean, and you see a ship that looks like it's floating above the horizon. It's not magic, though—it’s science at work. Fata Morgana - Ship sailing in the sky as viewed from Kitakyushu Here’s the lowdown. The air above the ocean is usually colder than the air higher up in the atmosphere. But sometimes, you get a temperature inversion where the air closer to the water is actually warmer than the air above it. This temperature difference makes light bend or "refract." So instead of light traveling in a straight line, it curves and can make things appear in places where they shouldn’t be. Kind of like when you’re staring into a glass of water and the spoon looks all weird. It’s the same principle. Fata Morgana - Cargo ship appears to be sailing in the sky Now, when you're on land looking out at the ocean, and you spot a ship tha...
Ship spotting photographs and video of vessels sailing the Kanmon Straits of Japan between Kitakyushu and Shimonoseki. Accompanied with insightful details and meaningless commentary by Ship Freakazoid.