Inferior Mirage_Moray Firth_Scotland_(20240208_124005 + IMG 7566f + 7569c)

            A mirage is typically a small, distant optical phenomenon on the horizon. The two inset photos here show telephoto enlarged images of an 'Inferior Mirage' of a coastlines of the Moray Firth in Scotland.

On both inset pictures, notice the mirror-images of the coastline in a narrow horizontal strip just above the sea horizon. The horizontal level where normal upright images of the coastal terrain flip over to inverted miraged images beneath are indicated by the small ticks on the right and left edges of the yellow picture borders. 

The main photograph shows the wider field of view and illustrates the scene without the use of telescopic aid. 

An in-depth analysis is given below: 

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A mirage is an 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.

All three photographs were taken from the village of Rosemarkie, on the southeast coast of the Black Isle peninsula in the Highland region of Scotland. The miraged headland on the left (highlighted in the top left inset photo) is estimated to be about 9 km away on the northeast of the Black Isle peninsula. The miraged coast on the right, across the Moray Firth, is a stretch from around Whiteness Head to Fort George. In the right-hand inset photo the miraged coast is estimated to be about 6 km away on the left and 3 km away on the right.

The main, background photograph is an image taken with a mobile phone and this shows the general view from Rosemarkie. The inset photographs were taken on a digital SLR camera through a zoom lens set to its highest telephoto setting (300 mm). Both inset images have been substantially cropped so that the detail of the miraged coasts can be more easily seen in the enlarged pictures. The yellow arrows point to the locations of the distant coastlines on the main photograph.

The type of mirage here is an 'inferior mirage'. The term 'inferior' denotes that the miraged image is below the normal image. An 'inferior mirage' occurs when there is a strong vertical temperature gradient near the ground surface, with warmer air at the surface (in this case at the sea surface) and cooler air above.

When the photos were taken there was a 6 degree Celsius difference between the sea surface temperature (around 7 degrees Celsius) and the air temperature (measured by car thermometer as 1 degree Celsius in Rosemarkie). The camera - (located above Rosemarkie beach, in Marine Terrace car park) - was estimated to be at a height of around 7 to 8 metres AMSL.

An inferior mirage is formed by rays of light from distant objects being refracted as they pass through the strong temperature gradient and bent upwards towards the cooler, denser air. To the observer, the miraged image is displaced downwards and appears lower than the normal image. The miraged image is also inverted. 

So, the inset photos here, - (taken through a telephoto lens (and further cropped)), - show narrow horizontal strips of coastline, just above the apparent sea surface, that are inverted mirror-images of the terrain above. The small ticks on the right and left of the inset picture yellow borders indicate the level where the normal upright images fold over to inverted miraged images. This horizontal level is known as the 'fold-line' or 'vanishing line'. The mirror-image below the fold-line is the inferior mirage. Note on the right-hand inset photo that miraged sky forms part of the mirage, giving the illusion of islands floating above the sea. This is merely due to the miraged upside-down image of the coast and sky.

Taken in: UK / Scotland / Rosemarkie (show map)

Taken on: February 8, 2024

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Camera: samsung SM-M536B, f/1.8, 1/374 sec, 5.1mm, ISO 20 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	samsung SM-M536B
Aperture:	f/1.8
Exposure Time:	0.003 sec (1/374)
Focal Length:	5.1mm
ISO:	20
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Light Source:	Other
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Elements 18.0 (Windows)
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