© George Anderson

Between Polis and Pomos, Cyprus

Latitude: 35° 5' 57'' N

Longitude: 32° 30' 1'' E

01 August 2011 1256 (Local Time)
Camera direction: towards SW

Image P/S code: P.13.7.1

Image I.D.: 4133

• Images & related info Other Images Images of 1987 edition
• 

  Inferior (hot-road) mirage

  A mirage is an optical phenomenon produced when light is refracted, or bent, by passing through layers of air of different temperature and density.

  The "hot-road" mirage is one of the most commonly seen mirages, giving the illusion of an area of water on a road surface. Similar mirages occur over deserts. The mirage occurs when there is a strong vertical temperature gradient in the air near the ground surface, typically due to strong heating of the road or desert surface by the Sun. Cooler air lies above the significantly warmed air near the ground surface.

  This type of mirage is known as an inferior mirage because the image of distant objects is displaced downwards. Rays of light from the sky and other objects are refracted as they pass through the air of changing temperature and density and are bent upwards towards the observer; thus, light from the sky appears as though it is water on the ground. 

  The inferior mirage shown in this photograph, taken in summertime on the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean, shows multiple mirage images of the car and sky due to the effects of a slightly undulating road surface. 

  A slight distortion in the shape of distant objects can also be seen due to shimmer. Shimmer typically occurs over land when the surface is hot and the Sun is shining brightly, and is caused by short period fluctuations of the refractive index of air as a result of the motion of small parcels of air.

  Links in the image description will highlight features on the image. Mouse over the features for more detail.

  © George Anderson
  Between Polis and Pomos, Cyprus
  Latitude: 35° 5' 57'' N
  Longitude: 32° 30' 1'' E
  01 August 2011 1256 (Local Time)
  
  
  Camera direction: towards SW
  Image P/S code: P.13.7.1
  Image I.D.: 4133
• 

  Inferior mirage on road

  One of the most commonly seen mirages is the kind that appears over a road surface heated by the Sun. This is known as a lower or inferior mirage because the image of distant objects is displaced downwards.

  A mirage is an optical phenomenon produced when light is refracted, or bent, by passing through layers of air of different temperature and density. An inferior mirage is created when rays of light from the sky or from other objects are bent upwards towards the observer so that, from the observer’s point of view, light from the sky appears as though it is water on the ground.

  Although this is commonly known as a hot-road mirage, it is not necessary for the road or the weather to be hot. The mirage seen in this picture occurred on a cold day in Estonia, as evidenced by the snow lying on the surrounding grass. All that was necessary for the mirage was for the Sun's rays to heat the road surface such that a layer of air immediately above the road became significantly warmer than the overlying air above.

  Links in the image description will highlight features on the image. Mouse over the features for more detail.

  © Ain Vindi
  Vagula, Estonia
  Latitude: 57° 52' 11'' N
  Longitude: 26° 56' 2'' E
  03 April 2013 1345 (Local Time)
  
  
  Camera direction: towards NW
  Image P/S code: S.13.7.1
  Image I.D.: 4134
• 

  Dust whirls (dust devils) and mirage

  Dust whirls (dust devils) occur when the air near the ground is very unstable, such as when the soil is strongly heated by the Sun. The same conditions are also conducive to the appearance of an inferior mirage, as seen in this photograph taken over the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, USA.

  A dust whirl or sand whirl (dust devil)is an ensemble of particles of dust or sand, sometimes accompanied by small litter, raised from the ground in the form of a whirling column of varying height with a small diameter and an approximately vertical axis.

  Mirages are an optical phenomenon caused by the curving of light rays passing through layers of air with changing refractive index due to differences in temperature and density. In an inferior mirage, the image of a distant object is displaced downwards. Note the inverted image of part of the hillside here. 

  Links in the image description will highlight features on the image. Mouse over the features for more detail.

  © Steve Jurvetson
  Gerlach, Nevada, United States of America
  Latitude: 40° 39' 20'' N
  Longitude: 119° 37' 24'' W
  21 July 2007 1415 (Local Time)
  
  
  Image P/S code: S.12.2.3
  Image I.D.: 5433
• 

  Inferior mirage and shimmer

  As the morning Sun rose over the Akrotiri peninsula on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, heating of the ground resulted in a strong vertical temperature gradient at the surface. This considerably zoomed, telescopic view shows both mirage and shimmer optical effects created over the heated, sandy surface.

  Shimmer is the apparent fluttering of objects at the Earth's surface when viewed in the horizontal direction. It occurs mainly over land when the Sun is shining brightly and is due to the short-period fluctuations of the refractive index in the surface layers of the atmosphere. Enlargement of the picture shows that the background objects appear slightly distorted (for example, at 1 and 2).

  A mirage is an optical phenomenon produced when light is refracted, or bent, by passing through layers of air of different temperature and density. The type of mirage shown here is an inferior mirage. The term “inferior” refers to the fact that the miraged image appears lower than the real object. Rays of light from the sky and other objects are bent upwards towards the observer; thus, the sky appears as though it is water on the ground. Miraged images of ground objects, such as the car and vegetation, appear as inverted mirror images beneath the real objects.

  Links in the image description will highlight features on the image. Mouse over the features for more detail.

  © George Anderson
  Limassol Salt Lake, Akrotiri, Cyprus
  Latitude: 34° 36' 33'' N
  Longitude: 32° 59' 49'' E
  22 August 2016 0931 (Local Time)
  
  
  Camera direction: towards N
  Image P/S code: S.13.7.1
  Image I.D.: 5572
• 

  Inferior mirage: omega Sun

  As the Sun descends towards the horizon at sunset, a second, miraged Sun rises from the water. The two appear to join in a shape resembling the Greek letter omega. The lower Sun is an inferior mirage, which is produced when cold air lies over a relatively much warmer layer of air at the sea surface.

  A mirage is an optical phenomenon produced when light is refracted, or bent, by passing through layers of air of different temperature, density and, therefore, refractive index.

  Links in the image description will highlight features on the image. Mouse over the features for more detail.

  © Pekka Parviainen
  Pyhäranta, Finland
  Latitude: 60° 57' 2'' N
  Longitude: 21° 26' 15'' E
  16 January 2009 1156 (Local Time)
  
  
  Image P/S code: S.13.7.5
  Image I.D.: 5878