Inferior Mirage Observed at Marina di Pisa
September 24, 2019
Photographer: Marco Meniero
Summary Authors: Marco Meniero; Jim Foster
Shown above is an inferior mirage of a distant ship as observed from near Marina di Pisa, Italy. With this type of mirage, the object being viewed is displaced downward from its actual position. Here, the ship appears to be floating since the true horizon has been displaced by the mirage of the sky. Inferior mirages typically occur when the sea surface temperature is warmer than the air just above the water’s surface. Because light refracts toward the denser medium (water is, of course, denser than air), the mirage is more clearly visible at the water’s surface than further above it.
Photo Details: Canon EOS 1DxMk2 camera; Sigma 105; f/1.4.