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.
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| 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.
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| 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 that looks like it’s floating above the horizon, that ship isn't really up in the air. The light bends around the curve of the Earth, and it makes the ship appear higher than it really is—sometimes even stretched out or split into multiple images. It’s just the way the light's bending due to the air temperature, playing a little trick on your eyes.
That, my comrades, is Fata Morgana. It's just the atmosphere doing its thing and creating a cool, distorted illusion of the ship, making it seem like it’s hovering above the horizon. FM happens more often in places with certain weather conditions, like the Arctic or Mediterranean, but it can happen anywhere with the right setup.
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| Original Photo by Ship Freakazoid - 2025.02.19 - Kitakyushu, Japan |
Apparently, the horizon as seen from Garden Paradise Kitakyushu on the morning of February 19, 2025 provided just the right conditions. Check out the video and photos here and see for yourselves. I wonder if the dudes in the tugboat Kazashi Maru (pictured above) noticed the floating vessel off in the distance.