The photo published on the “Kairofili Kyprou” page, which depicts three cruise ships looking like they are hovering over the Limassol sea, created the illusion that they are flying instead of sailing. The enchanting snapshot was captured by Michalis Michael, east of Limassol.
This is the Fata Morgana phenomenon, an optical illusion due to the temperature reversal of tangential atmospheric layers and belongs to the Meteorological phenomena. More specifically, writes el.wikipedia.org, objects on the horizon, such as islands, cliffs, ships or icebergs, appear complex, that is, two images of the same object joined upside down at the top. This is due to the interaction of hot supernatant and denser cold air near the ground surface, acting as a refractive lens, creating a vertically inverted image on which the distant straight image appears to be hovering. The Fata Morgana phenomenon is usually observed in the morning hours after a cold night which results in the heat leaving by radiation in space. The first reference to “Fata Morgana” in English, in 1818, concerned a similar reflection observed in the Strait of Messina, between Calabria and Sicily. It is a common phenomenon in the high mountain valleys, such as the San Luis Valley in Colorado where the phenomenon is magnified due to the curvature of the valley bottom that compensates for the curvature of the Earth. It is likely to be observed in the Arctic Seas on very calm mornings, or often on the ice-covered plains of Antarctica.
Not only Limassol flies, but ships fly to Limassol too! Fata-Morgana phenomenon, east of Limassol. #Cyprus pic.twitter.com/e8TuSyzNIt
– Δημήτρης Κουρουσίδης (@Athkeiaseros) June 23, 2021
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