MIRAGE

A mirage is a naturally occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to
produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. Mirages happen when the ground is very hot
and the air is cool. The hot ground warms a layer of air just above the ground. When the light moves
through the cold air and into the layer of hot air it is refracted (bent). A layer of very warm air near the
ground refracts the light from the sky nearly into a U-shaped bend. Your mind creates an illusion – but a
mirage can be explained by the physics of Earth's atmosphere. Our atmosphere can cause some distant
images to undergo a similar effect called 'refraction. Sometimes the temperature of the air closest to
Earth's surface can be cooler than air above it. When such a temperature inversion occurs, light traveling
upward from an object can be gradually bent downward, making it appear that the object is floating up
above the surface.