Optical Phenomena


Superior Mirage

smirage.jpg (19585 bytes)
Magdalena, New Mexico.  Copyright ©2000 C. Gino
A mirage is occurs when light is refracted through layers of air of different densities. In the case of the superior mirage, a layer of warmer (less dense) air on top of a layer of cooler (more dense) air.
All of the images below were taken within a minute or two from the same vantage point, illustrating the changing nature of this kind of mirage.
smirage2.jpg (11789 bytes)
smirage5.jpg (11512 bytes)
smirage4.jpg (15877 bytes)
smirage3.jpg (12174 bytes)
Very Large Array,  New Mexico.  Copyright ©2000 C. Gino

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Last updated 12/15/00 Copyright © 2000 C. Gino.