Maine Mirages ~ Moonrise and terrestrial 'warm air beneath cold' mirages by John Stetson. It seems unfair to call such sights by their technical name - 'inferior mirages'. ©John Stetson, shown with permission.
1 - Moonrise over Casco Bay, Cape Elizabeth on November 24, 2010. Passing clouds and unsteady air further work and transform the Etruscan Vase shape. More temperature gradients notch the Moon's limb even as it is well clear of the horizon.
2 - Casco Bay moonrise October 23, 2010. The distortion near the horizon is already evident in the second image.
3 - Mirage on Sebago Lake also October 23. The water temperature was 53F and that of the air some distance above it only 32F. The mirage is produced by refraction across the temperature gradients between the lake warmed air and cooler air above.
4 - A close up of the Sebago Lake mirage shows the apparently rough and fragmented water. Purely an illusion at the mirage's lower edge.
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