Free Republic

(The Chicago skyline was seen from 60 miles away across Lake Michigan in St. Joseph, Michigan, at sunset Saturday, May 4, 2019.) ------------------------------------------- Imagine gazing across Lake Michigan expecting to see the setting sun on the horizon, but instead seeing the skyline of a distant city. That's what happened in St. Joseph, Michigan, Saturday evening. This effect, captured on video by Joshua Nowicki, is called fata morgana, which is an optical bending of light by changes in air temperature over bodies of cold water, such as Lake Michigan in the spring. The skyline of Chicago can be seen from a...

Explanation: Did this mirage help sink the Titanic? The optical phenomenon called Fata Morgana can make strange shapes or a false wall of water appear above a watery horizon. When conditions are right, light reflecting off of cold water will be bent by an unusual layer of warm air above to arrive at the observer from several different angles. A conceptually comparable mirage can make a setting Sun appear strangely distorted or a distant pavement appear wet. One hundred years ago today, such a Fata Morgana mirage might have obscured real icebergs from the clear view of crew onboard the...