Inferior Mirage Sunset_(IMG_4756c+4759a+4760a+4761c)

            This series of photographs show the end phase of an 'inferior mirage sunset' in the last few seconds before the Sun finally set. 

The photos were taken looking out over the Mediterranean Sea on 10 November 2022 from the beach at Geroskipou, near Paphos, Cyprus. The camera's zoom lens was set to its highest telephoto setting and all the images have been further cropped (to make the mirage easier to see); the three inset ones more so than the main picture. 

A mirage is a distant optical phenomenon, involving at least one inverted image, produced when light is refracted, or bent, by passing through layers of air of different temperature / density.
Specifically, an 'inferior' mirage occurs when there is a strong vertical temperature gradient near the ground surface, with warmer air at the surface and cooler air above. In this case, the sea surface temperature was estimated to be around 24 degrees Celsius, and the air temperature measured at nearby Paphos Airport was 20 Celsius (although over the sea it was probably cooler).  

The inferior mirage is formed when rays of light from distant objects - (in this case, the Sun) - are refracted as they pass through the steep temperature gradient just above the ground -(in this case, just above the sea surface) - and are bent upwards towards the cooler, denser air above. Thus, to the observer the miraged image is displaced downwards and appears lower than the 'normal' image. The miraged image is also inverted. This type of mirage is known as 'inferior' to denote that the miraged image is below the normal image.  

What we see in this photo sequence is a combination of the normal, upright upper limb of the Sun merged with its inverted, mirror-image below to form a discus shape (or a shape like two plates stuck together, one upside-down, viewed edge on). (The shape might also be likened to the classic shape of a UFO, or even a rugby ball). The lower, upside-down image is the inferior mirage. Both are real images of the Sun's upper limb; the normal erect image is descending, and the miraged image below is rising. 

The picture sequence here covers a period of ten seconds. The sequence starts with the main photo (T = 0) and ends 10 seconds later with the bottom inset picture (T + 10 s). On some occasions a 'green flash' may occur in the next few seconds but it wasn't noticed in this sunset, probably as the atmosphere was  too hazy for it to occur. The reddened Sun simply vanished.    

The level where the upright image and the inverted miraged image merge together, and fold over, is known as the 'fold-line' or 'vanishing line'. This level is indicated on the three inset pictures by the horizontal yellow lines. Note from the photos that this level is just above the sea surface at the apparent horizon. The reason for this is that it is not the true horizon. As well as the Sun, a very narrow horizontal strip of sky below the level of the fold-line is also a miraged image. This miraged sky obscures the true horizon, - (hence why the 'fold-line' is also known as the 'vanishing line'). The apparent sea horizon is, in fact, the lower edge of a very narrow strip of miraged sky rather than the true geometric horizon.

Taken in: Cyprus / Pafos / Geroskipou Municipality (show map)

Taken on: November 10, 2022

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Camera: Canon EOS 1100D, f/5.6, 1/250 sec, 250mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 1100D
Lens:	EF-S55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II
Aperture:	f/5.6
Exposure Time:	0.004 sec (1/250)
Focal Length:	250mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Elements 18.0 (Windows)
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