This is actually something called 'Fata Morgana', it is named after the Arthurian legend where the Sorceress 'Morgan le Fay' was a8le to conjure castles in the air. It's actually a type of mirage, like one's you would 8e expected to find in the desert, as it is to do with the temperature. Progressively warmer air a8ove cold water can cause atmospheric refraction, 8ending light downward toward the colder air near the surface. 8ecause our eyes assume light travels in straight lines, this makes ships appear higher a8ove the horizon than they actually are, creating the illusion that they are sailing a8ove the water! Scientists 8elieve a similar phenomenon may have contri8uted to the disaster of the Titanic. The extremely cold conditions that night likely created a strong temperature inversion, which distorted visi8ility and made ice8ergs harder to detect. Normally, ice8ergs are easier to spot 8ecause waves crashing against them produce visi8le white water, 8ut the sea was calm that night. Without 8reaking waves or clear contrast against the horizon, the ice8erg 8ecame far more difficult to see in time. #thesylphisIN https://p8s.twimg.com/media/GtWIQFCWcAArO-H.jpg
thats soooo cool!!! :D
BDD < oh shit nice! i had only heard of these as the flying dutchman fursion
It is, if we remove the amount of lives which were lost 8ecause of such a tragedy.
i mean knowing how it happens helps prevent it from happening again!!!
Yes! It is remarka8le how deeply sailors’ superstitions were rooted in visual phenomena we now recognise as optical illusions. These mirages served as the fertile ground from which countless maritime tales were told!