Heat Haze – in this cold. Yes!

[jack.h...@gmail.com]

This fishing boat was about 10 kilometres away.

Air temperature on coast + 0.5 C

Air temperature 100 metres above sea about + 2 C

Sea temperature + 9 C

The effect was parallel (and had similar cause) to the shimmering seen above a tarmac road in summer: a very ‘hot’ surface with colder air above.

Jack

[Len]

Nice one Jack, an inferior mirage over a relatively warm surface

with a rapid decrease of temperature with height.

The light to the observer is refracted (bent) .

A superior mirage with warm air above cold is the opposite as shown by the excellent photo taken by

David Morris off the coast of Cornwall.

Len

Wembury

[Graham Easterling]

I may be cynical but I'm not convinced that photo is what it claims to be.

I've seen similar things many times (well I do stare out to sea a lot!), when what appears to be the horizon is actually the limit of the sea breeze front. The real horizon far beyond in the haze. A bit of zoom to make the ship seem much closer than it is, & enhancement, that's what you get. It happens not infrequently.

Here's the reverse with no enhancement, approaching breeze.

If it was the reverse, with a ship on the horizon, a bit of zoom & enhancement and it's floating in space.

Graham

Penzance

[jack.h...@gmail.com]

Here's 'my' boat in context.  South Sutor, Cromarty in the background.

Jack

[Len]

Not sure what date the photo was taken off Cornwall or whether there was a sea breeze or not.

Len