Mirages in the UK

Mirages in the USA and Canada

Mirages in Mexico

Mirage References

There is very little data available on the Internet and my own references are shown below:-

Much of the above has been taken from these references.

A Physics experiment to demonstrate a mirage.

Andy Young has furnished me with the extensive list of mirage references below.

* MIRAGE OBSERVATIONS

*

* HUGH HAMILTON

* Earliest mirage publication?  (mentioned by Huddart.)

* Footnote, pp.43-44: "This Fleece of vapourous Air that some times hangs

* over Water, is very discernable when we stand by the Sea-side in a hot

* calm Day, and is the Cause of some odd Appearances.  For the lower Part

* of the Air, which is then much impregnated with Water, refracts the Rays

* of the Light more strongly than at other Times, and by this unusual Degree

* of Refraction, Houses on the Shore at a Distance from us appear almost as

* high as Steeples, remote Ships and Islands and the extreme Parts of

* Head-lands or Promontories appear to be raised quite out of the Water, and

* to hang in the Air above its Surface."

H. Hamilton

$Philosophical Essays.  II. An Essay on the Ascent of Vapours, the

 Formation of Clouds, Rain, and Dew, and on several other Phaenomena of Air

 and Water

(W.Sleater, Dublin, 1766) pp.31-88



* Early mirages:  Claims to have written to Abbe v. Herbert in 1776,

* and published a letter in 1781,

* before Bu"sch's "Tractatus duo argumenti optici" of 1783.

*

* N.B.: "Klafter" = "die La"nge des Menschens" (approx. 1.9 m)

* according to Grimm; Brockhaus says "6 fuss; 10 fuss; 1.7 m im mittel"

*

* First observations published in letters from Krain = Carniola, on the

* bed of seasonally-varying Zirknitzer See = Cirknisko Jezero = Lago

* Periodico near Zirknitz = Cerknica = Cirkonico, south of Laibach =

* Ljubljana.  This southern former crownland of Austria, later titular

* duchy, was annexed by the Hapsburgs in 1335.  Note the use of Viennese

* measures.

*

* Both field measurements and indoor experiments with air heated by an

* iron strip.

* Detailed explanations of double images and image elongation at the

* fold line, with good ray diagrams.

*

* Abbe' Tobias Gruber, K.K.Kameral-Baudirektor

* note obsolete spelling: "Stralungbrechung"!

T.Gruber

Physikalische Abhandlung \o'u"'ber die Stralenbrechung und Abprellung auf

 erw\'a"'rmten Fl\o'a"'chen

Abhandlungen der B\o'o"'mischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften 2,298-330(1786)



* EARLY TREATMENT OF LOOMING & FATA MORGANA, with SUPERIOR MIRAGES

* more "FOG" (p.16)

* "... hier wa"hle ich zum Beyspiele meiner Beschreibung die bekannten

* Gunnilas Felsen, (Gunnilas Oerar) 3/4 schwedische Meilen ostwa"rts in der

* See von den Svenska Ho"gar.

*   "Vermutlich sind diese Gunnilas Felsen auf gewisse Art vor mehr als

* zwei Jahrhunderten bekannt gewesen...."

N.J.Wetterling

Von zwo an den schwedischen K\o'u"'sten bemerkten Erscheinungen,

 Erhebung und Seegesicht

Neue Abh.Kongl.Schwed.Akad.Wiss.9,3-24(1788)



* EARLY DRAWING of SUPERIOR MIRAGE

* by the Rev. Samuel Dickenson, LL.B. the Chaplain of the _Dunkirk_

* Man of War...

* "The term _haze_, prefixed to the foregoing account, is adopted from the

* phrase then used by the sailors, perhaps improperly; for, there was not

* the least appearance of mist or fog, or thickness of atmosphere; on the

* contrary, the air seemed uncommonly clear."

S.Dickenson

A Description of a Phaenomenon caused by Haze seen at Sea Aug. 10, 1759

Gentleman's Magazine 63,601-602(1793)



* EARLY OBSERVATION & EXPLANATION OF INFERIOR MIRAGES

J.Huddart

Observations on horizontal Refractions which affect the Appearance of

 terrestrial Objects, and the Dip, or Depression of the Horizon of the Sea

Phil.Trans.Roy.Soc.Lond.87,29-42(1797)



* The same, reprinted:

J.Huddart

Observations on horizontal Refractions which affect the Appearance of

 terrestrial Objects, and the Dip, or Depression of the Horizon of the Sea

William Nicholson's "A Journal of Natural Philosophy...",1,145-152(1797)



* early report of SUPERIOR MIRAGE:

* ``The uncertainty of the refraction of the air near the horizon has long been

* known to astronomers, the mean refraction varying by quantities which cannot

* be accounted for from the variations of the barometer and thermometer....''

* ``In fact, the images were visible, when the whole ship was actually below

* the horizon....  The discovery of ships in this manner might, in some cases,

* be of great importance....''

* ``As the phenomena are very curious, and extraordinary in their nature, ...

* They appear to be of considerable importance; as they lead us to a knowledge

* of those changes to which the lower parts of the atmosphere are sometimes

* subject.   ... it might throw further light upon this subject, and lead to

* useful discoveries respecting the state of the atmosphere....''

*

* According to Tait in the E.B., 9th ed., this was the Bakerian lecture.

* According to the paper's title, Vince was the Plumian Prof. of Astronomy

* & Experimental Philosophy (i.e., physics) at Cambridge.

S. Vince

Observations upon an unusual horizontal Refraction of the Air; with Remarks on

 the Variation to which the lower Parts of the Atmosphere are sometimes subject

Phil.Trans.Roy.Soc.Lond.89, 13-23 (1799)



* GASPARD MONGE explains the INFERIOR MIRAGE as total internal reflection,

* and reports REFLECTED RAINBOWS

G.Monge

Sur le ph\'{e}nomene d'optique, connu sous le nom de Mirage

Memoires sur l'\'{E}gypte 1,64-79(1799)



* William Hyde WOLLASTON's paper on mirage theory:

W.H.Wollaston

On double Images caused by atmospherical Refraction

Phil.Trans.Roy.Soc.Lond.91,239-254(1800)



* WOLLASTON picks up Monge's use of "mirage" in his Bakerian Lecture:

W.H.Wollaston

Observations on the Quantity of horizontal Refraction; with a Method of

 measuring the Dip at Sea

Phil.Trans.Roy.Soc.Lond.94,1-11(1803)



* EARLY MIRAGES; DISTORTED MOONRISE

* extracted and translated from:

* Jo. Geo. Bu"sch tractatus duo optici argumenti, Hamburgi 1783, 132 S. 8.

* Prof. Johann Georg Bu"sch

* includes a distorted moonrise: "Der Mond, der beynahe voll war, ging

* auf, wie ihn Fig. 6 zeigt.  Als ich die anderen Passagiers fragte, ob

* ihnen nicht etwas besonderes am Monde vorkomme, antwortete einer:

* `Meiner Treu, er gleicht einem umgestu"rzten Nachtgeschirr.'"

J.G.B\"{u}sch

Beobachtungen \"{u}ber horizontale Strahlenbrechung und die wunderbaren

 Erscheinungen, welche sie bewirkt

Gilberts Ann.Phys.3,290-301(1800)



* EARLY MIRAGES

* summaries of the work of others by Ludwig Wilhelm Gilbert:

L.W.Gilbert

Beobachtungen besonderer Strahlenbrechung von Boscowich, Monge und Ellicot

Gilberts Ann.Phys.3,302-308(1800)



* EARLY EXPERIMENTAL DEMONSTRATION OF MIRAGE

* Abbe' Tobias Gruber (Gru"ber?) -- see his 1786 paper.

T.Gruber

Beobachtungen \"{u}ber die Strahlenbrechung auf erw\"{a}rmten Fl\"{a}chen

Gilberts Ann.Physik 3,377-396(1800)



* QUANTITATIVE MEASUREMENTS of MIRAGES and VARIABLE REFRACTION

* Reinhard Woltman (Not "Woltmann", says Pogg.)

* Gilbert attributes the term "Spiegelung" to Woltmann.

* VARIATIONS:

* "Auch die _astronomische_Horizontalrefraction_ Wu"rde daher wenigstens

* um eben so viel, d.i. etwa um 1/6 ihrer ganzen Gro"sse vera"nderlich und

* ungewiss seyn."

* TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE between AIR and WATER:

* "... allemal, wenn das Wasser um 2^o Fahrenh. oder mehr _wa"rmer_ als

* die Luft war, eine _Erniedrigung_ der Strahlen, die sich u"ber die

* Wasserfla"che erstreckten, und (vorausgesetzt, dass die Gegensta"nde

* sichtbar waren) eine Spiegelung herabwa"rts stat find.  War dagegen des

* Wasser um 2^o F. __ka"lter_ als die Luft, so fand _Hebung_ der Strahlen

* und nie eine Spiegelung herabwa"rts statt."

R.Woltmann

Beobachtungen \"{u}ber die brechung der Lichtstrahlen, die nahe \"{u}ber

 der Erdfl\"{a}che hinfahren

Gilberts Ann.Physik 3,397-438(1800)



* EARLY THEORY OF MIRAGE

* Abbe' Tobias Gruber (Gru"ber?)

T.Gruber

Theorie der mit Spiegelung verbundnen Senkung und Hebung der Objecte

 am Horizont

Gilberts Ann.Physik 3,439-446(1800)



* BRANDES

* Heinrich Wilhelm Brandes

* uses temperature gradient info

*

* "... die grossen Aenderungen, denen die scheinbare H\o'o"'he eines

* bestimmten Gegenstandes, den man aus einerlei Standpunkt betrachtet ..."

* "Schon mehrere Beobachter hatten zwar die ungleiche Erw\o'a"'rmung der Luft

* in verschiedenen H\o'o"'hen, als einen vorz\o'u"'glichen Grund mancher hier

* vorkommende Ph\o'a"'nomene angegeben; aber so viel mir bekannt ist, hatte

* noch keiner durch Beobachtungen gezeigt, dass die Aenderungen der Refraktion

* ganz genau mit der Aenderung der Unterschiede der in verschiedenen H\o'o"'hen

* statt findenden W\o'a"'rme \o'u"'bereinstimmen.  Dieses zuthun, waren meine

* ferneren Beobachtungen bestimmt, und wenn die ersten Beobachtungen nur

* dahin leiten kennten, empirische Regeln f\o'u"'r die Bestimmung der

* gleichzeitigen Aenderungen der scheinbaren H\o'o"'he verschiedener

* Gegenst\o'a"'nde anzugeben, so m\o'u"'ssen die leztern, wofern sie ihren

* Zweck erreicht haben, uns in der theoretischen Bestimmung der Refraktion

* einen Schritt weiter bringen."

*

* EARLIEST MIRAGE OF SUN

* (section 78, p.126): "Eine Erscheinung muss ich noch erw\o'a"'hnen, die

* ebenfalls hier geh\o'o"'rt.  Am 8. April 1806 n\o'a"'mlich erschien die

* Sonne beim Untergange in einer solchen Gestalt, wie Fig. 18. zeigt.  Hier

* is offenbar acb das aufrecht, dce das umgekehrte and dfe das zweite

* aufrechte Bild.  Ich hatte damals kein Fernrohr zu Hand, aber ein folgended

* Tage, wo die heitere Witterung mit Ostwind fortdauerte, zeigte sich beim

* Untergange der Sonne etwas \o'a"'hnliches, obgleich die Spiegelung

* schwacher war, und diese Erscheinung habe ich mit dem Fernrohr beobachtet.

* Die Sonne erschien n\o'a"'mlich wie Fig. 19. und als sie tiefer sank,

* trente sich das St\o'u"'ck oberhalb des Einschnitts ab, schwebte noch

* abgesondert einen Augenblick und verschwand dann.  Etwas sp\o'a"'ter trente

* sich noch ein zweiter solcher Streifen. -- Die Sonne erschien zitternd und

* daher schlecht begrenzt, indess war diese Erscheinung sehr deutlich. --

* Tages vorher waren Nachmittags auch einige s\o'u"'dlich liegende

* Gegenst\o'a"'nde oberw\o'a"'rts gespiegelt.

*   "Diese Spiegelung der Sonne k\o'o"'nte, d\o'u"'nkt mich, gar nicht statt

* finden, wenn die Schichte, worin die starke Brechung erfolgte, sich sehr

* weit, z.B. \o'u"'ber den ganzen Gesichtskreis, erstreckt h\o'a"'tte.

* Stellt n\o'a"'mlich (fig. 20.) dc die oberfl\o'a"'che der Erde, b die

* Gegend vor, wo der Scheitel des Strals [sic] lag, sow\o'u"'rde, wenn in a eben

* so starke Brechung, als in b statt finde, keine Vervielfachung des Bildes

* m\o'o"'glich gewesen sein."

*

H.W.Brandes

$Beobachtungen und theoretische Untersuchungen \o'u"'ber die Strahelenbrechung

(in der Schulze'schen Buchhandlung, Oldenburg, 1807)



* BIOT + ARAGO

* "Biento^t nous ne vi^mes pas seulement deux lumie`res, mais trois,

* quatre ou davantage.  Elles se formoient et disparoissoient ensuite sans

* que le nombre de celles aui paroissoient ensemble eu^t rien de

* de'termine'. ...  Cette formation successive a beaucoup d'analogie avec un

* autre phe'nome`ne que nous avons observe' plusiers fois dans l'autres

* stations.  On voyoit le point lumineux s'allonger comme une petite colonne

* de feu sous le fil vertical de la lunette, et s'e'tendre ainsi jusqu'a une

* certaine longeur, apre`s quoi la colonne se rompoit tout `a coup et

* formoit deux images dont le plus basse e'toit sensiblement rouge, et la

* supe'rieure sensiblement verte; ou bien elle se concentroit de nouveau sur

* elle-me^me; et redevendroit un point lumineux unique, de dimension

* insensible, comme auparavant. ..." (p.15 -- his experiments with Arago)

* Jean Baptiste Biot

J.B.Biot

Recherches sur les r\'{e}fractions extraordinaires qui ont lieu pr\`{e}s de

 l'horizon

(Garnery, Paris, 1810)



* SUPERIOR MIRAGES of SHIPS

* cf. Rees, 1988 for inversion

W.Scoresby

Description of some Atmospheric Reflections and Refractions, observed in the

 Greenland Sea

Trans.Roy.Soc.Edinburgh 9,298-305 (1823)



* Info kindly supplied by A.R.Macdonald, librarian at ROE:

* Henry Home Blackadder

* "In adverting to this subject, one can hardly avoid noticing the

* remarkable inattention of not a few to what is passing under their 

* immediate view, while they eagerly search after that which is distant,

* and far removed from the sphere of their contemplation....  Is nothing

* interesting but what is distant?"

H. H. Blackadder

On unusual atmospherical refraction

Edinburgh Philosophical Journal 13, No.25, 66-72(1825)



H. H. Blackadder

On some phenomena of vertical and lateral mirage observed at King George's 

 Bastion, Leith

Edinburgh Journal of Science 3, No.5, 13-15(1825)



* SUNSET MIRAGE

* "Auf einmal bemerkten wir, dass unsere Schatten, die wir vor uns liegen

* hatten, da wir ostwa"rts gingen, _doppelt_ waren und zwar in der Weise,

* dass u"ber unseren Ko"pfen im Schatten noch ein zweiter Kopf deutlich

* und scharf hervortrat.  Ich sah mich um nach der Sonne, und

* es zeigten sich im Westen ... _zwei_ klare Sonnen vertikal

* u"bereinander.  Der vertikale Abstand beider Sonnen von einander betrug 

* etwas u"ber einen Sonnendurchmesser."

H.Emsmann

Luftspiegelung an der Sonne; beobachtet von Prof. H. Emsmann

Pogg.Ann.Phys.Chem.98 (2), 642-643(1856)



* vicious, nit-picking attack on Vince

E.Sang

A Critical Examination of two cases of unusual Atmospheric Refraction

 described by Professor Vince

Proc.Roy.Soc.Edinburgh 11,581-594(1882)



* EARLIEST demonstration of "Fraser's THEOREM" by Edward Sang; he thought

* Vince had seen "a sloop floating on a calm sea with its shadow in the

* water" and imagined the rest.

* FLAT EARTH:

* FIRST derivation of flat-Earth model: "No sun, moon, or star could have

* been seen at a lower altitude than $1^\circ$ 22'.  All light reaching the

* eye from a lower elevation must have come from some terrestrial

* object...."

* "Inverted images, then, can only be seen when the air is in an unusual

* condition; there must be unusually light air above.  Now, in these, as in

* all investigations on the subject, the air is assumed to be disposed in

* horizontal layers, each of uniform density....  The absolute need for

* smoothness of arrangement may easily be illustrated: -- the sun's light is

* certainly reflected from the surface of the sea; yet we do not see an

* image of the sun in the water; we see only a confused brightness."

E.Sang

On the impossibility of inverted images in the air

Proc.Roy.Soc.Edinburgh 12,129-136(1884)



* This is the MULTIPLE LUNAR CRESCENT mirage reproduced by Minnaert!

* Cf. Clark et al., M.O.1964.

Prof.Dr.Reimann

Spiegelungen der Mondsichel

Met.Zs.4,144-145(1887)



* DARK BANDING, or SKY?  DOUBLE SUPERIOR MIRAGE

* "The land seen just above the lines (\alpha) and (\beta) was paler than

* that seen just below these lines.

W.Larden

Mirage in the South American Pampas

Nature 41,69-71(1889)



* "The mirage of the reflection of the sun in the sea was, when seen

* through a glass, especially beautiful.  It resembled a glorious cataract

* of golden water."  (cf. Pekka's photo!)

A.E.Brown

Mirages

Nature 41,225(1890)



* DARK STREAK

* "There was a dark streak between it and the horizon."

(anonymous)

Mirage over Lake Michigan

Mon.Weather Rev.28,544(1900)



* HILLERS -- LATERAL MIRAGE PHOTOGRAPHED

W.Hillers

Ueber eine leicht beobachtbare Luftspiegelungbei Hamburg und die

 Erkl\"{a}rung solcher Erscheinungen

Unterrichtsbl\"{a}tter Math.Naturwiss.19,21-38(1913)



W.Hillers

Die erste photographische Aufnahme einer st\"{a}ndigen Luftspiegelung bei

 Blankenese

Kosmos (Stuttgart) 10, 37-39(1913)



* HEIGHT EFFECTS + PHOTOS

W.H.Steavenson

Note on the mirage, as observed in Egypt

Q.J.Roy.Met.Soc.47,15-21(1921)



* TRIPLE SUPERIOR MIRAGE

D.Brunt

A double vertical reflection mirage at Cape Wrath

Nature 111,222-223(1923)



* PERIODIC MIRAGE and the ORKNEY WITCH

* "... in the Pentland Firth the superior mirage is sometimes referred to

* by the name of `Margaret, the Orkney Witch'...."

* "... as sure as the timely rise and fall of a fountain ball, so did this

* strange sight rise and fall as if governed by the movement of some sighing

* bosom."

* "Such direct evidence for Helmholtz waves in the transition layer

* between a warm current and the cold air beneath it is valuable."

Anonymous

Surging mirage

Met.Mag.58,12-13(1923)



* textbook example of MULTIPLE HORIZON due to INVERSION

C.F.Brooks

Looming and multiple horizons

Mon.Wea.Rev.53,313(1925)



* WEGENER's statistical support for superior mirage predicting warmer

* weather

A.Wegener

Die prognostische Bedeutung der Luftspiegelung nach oben

Ann.Hydrog.u.maritimem Met., K\"{o}ppen-Heft, 93-95(1926)



* MIRAGE CLASSIFICATION

P.A.Bonnelance

Note sur les r\o"e'"fractions anormales

Bull.Obs.Lyon 9,17-20(1926)



* PHOTOGRAPHS of SUPERIOR MIRAGES in the Alps, by A. Vaupel

* Commentary by Alfred Wegener

A.Wegener

Photographien von Luftspiegelungen an der Alpenkette

Met.Zs.43,207-209(1926)



* STANDARD TRIPLE IMAGE with drawing of SUPERIOR MIRAGE

* "The day was hot and clear with a temperature of about 65\deg."

P.M.Millman

Two optical phenomena observed.  I. A mirage seen near Victoria, B.C.

J.R.A.S.C.22,94(1928)



* badly drawn OMEGA sketch

H.Jameson

Inferior mirage at Sunrise?

Met.Mag.65,138(1930)



* impossible balloon sounding explained by abnormal refraction at inversion

J.Reger

Spiegelung an einer Diskontinuit\"{a}tsfl\"{a}che

Beitr.Physik d.freien Atmos.18,190-195(1932)



* DOUBLE HORIZON; DEVELOPMENT of the superior mirage above 3 boats in 5

* minutes, from masts downward.

H.C.Freiesleben

Luftspiegelung nach oben

Ann.Hydrog.u.maritimem Met.62,426(1934)



* Thesis -- good references

W.-E.Schiele

Zur Theorie der Luftspiegelungen, insbesondere des elliptischen Falles

Ver\o'o"'ff.Geophys.Inst.d.Univ.Leipzig (2) 7,101-188(1935)



* Rudolf Meyer FIRST DISCOVERED the Mock Mirage ("intermediate mirage")

* too many good quotes to give here!

R. Meyer

Die Entstehung optischer Bilder durch Brechung und Spiegelung

 in der Atmosph\o'a"'re

Meteorologische Zeitschrift 52, 405-408(1935)



* GOOD REVIEW OF DESERT MIRAGES (ALL KINDS)

R.L.Ives

Meteorological conditions accompanying mirages in the Salt Lake desert

J.Franklin Inst.245,457-473(1948)



* MULTIPLE IMAGES OF THE SUN

R.Richard

Ph\'{e}nom\`{e}ne optique remarquable

La M\'{e}t\'{e}orologie (4) 32, 301-302(1953)



* ?? Off-base comment on the above report

E.Vassy

Quelques remarques sur un ph\'{e}nom\`{e}ne de mirage du disque solaire

La M\'{e}t\'{e}orologie (4) 32, 302-303(1953)



* SUPERIOR MIRAGE of cumulus cloudtop from airplane

* "Such phenomena as described in this paper do not appear to have been

* previously reported from aircraft in flight, unless some of the reports

* of 'flying saucers' may have been due to this effect."

C.S.Durst,G.A.Bull

An unusual refraction phenomenon seen from a high-flying aircraft

Met.Mag.85,237-242(1956)



* RAMAN

C.V.Raman

The optics of mirages

Current Sci.29,309-313(1959)



* DISTORTED MOONRISE with INFERIOR MIRAGE (textbook example)

* good drawings

N.P.Austin,M.Edward

Abnormal refraction, North Pacific Ocean

Marine Observer 32,22(1962)



* DISTORTED MOONRISE with multiple MOCK MIRAGES (Filed in GF file!)

* good drawings

M.J.Downie

Abnormal refraction, North Atlantic Ocean

Marine Observer 32,182-183(1962)



* REGULAR MIRAGES IN BAJA

R.L.Ives

The mirages of La Encantada

Weather 23,55-60(1968)



* SUPERIOR MIRAGE PHOTOS

A.D.Matthias,N.Ferguson

Superior-mirage photographs: evidence of complex air temperature profiles

 in Sonoran Desert valleys

Bull. Amer.Meteorol.Soc.67,1266-1271 (1986)



R.G.Greenler

Laboratory simulation of inferior and superior mirages

JOSA A,4,589-590(1987)



* INVERSION of SCORESBY's drawings

W.G.Rees

Reconstruction of an atmospheric temperature profile from a 166-year old

 polar mirage

Polar Record 24,325-327(1988)



* our MOCK MIRAGE paper

A.T.Young,G.W.Kattawar,P.Parviainen

Sunset Science.  I. The Mock Mirage

Appl.Opt.2689-2700(1997)

Thanks Andy. This should give mirage researchers plenty to go looking for!

Please e-mail me with any references you may have on the subject of mirages. Do you know of any good books? Have you seen any interesting mirages yourself? I'll post your data here if you send it in.

Roger Lapthorn
July 6th 1997

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