The warm air in December and year round not only makes for a great day, but also for some serious illusions. Lewis said he watched this ship float over Fort Miles today from the fire watch tower. Last week we watched the ice breakers floating in the air. We see this a lot off our coast on dead calm days. This illusion is a type of mirage known as Fata Morgana. “It was spooky watching this ship floating across the sky over Fort Miles today.” … Lewis McCollough
The phenomenon, Fata Morgana, is a type of mirage. The image is created by layers of warm to colder air that pile up or layer from a pressure system. Usually the wind mixes these layers up and you don’t get this reflection of an image. This floating ship is created by an inversion layer, because the colder air is on the bottom of the layer and the warmer air is on top. Usually the colder air is on top of these “layers”. The particles in the warmer layer are less dense and images will travel through them faster and easier. The light path or reflection you see is bent, and makes the ship appear to be in the air. Because the warmer air on the top of these layers or inversions projects the image first, making it appear that the ship is floating in the air or flying as it moves across the distant horizon.