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The Fata Morgana
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A special type of complex mirage, one that sometimes gives the impression
of a castle half in the air and half in the sea, is named after Fata Morgana.
She was known to live in a marvelous castle under the sea. Sometimes the
enchantress made this castle appear reflected up in the air, causing seamen
who mistook it for a safe harbor to be lured to their deaths.
The fate morgana mirage is one that can occur only where there are
alternating warm and cold layers of air near the ground or water surface.
Instead of traveling straight through these layers, light is bent towards the
colder, hence denser, air. The result can be a rather complicated light path
and a strange image of a distant object. A fate morgana actually is a
superposition of several images of one object. Typically one image is upright
more or less above two inverted images that may be mingled together. The
images may undergo rapid changes as the air layers move slightly up and
down relative to the observer.
In Alaska the best chance of seeing the relatively rare fate morgana is in
winter when temperature inversions develop in the larger valleys. When
seeing a complex mountain image out across a valley or bay one can
attempt to sort out in the mind the paths that the light rays must have taken.
Perhaps it's best just to acknowledge that it is Morgan le Fay beckoning.
At certain times over the Strait of Messina, which divides Italy
from Sicily, an elaborate scene of crystal castles, palaces, and
streets shimmers between the water and the sky.
This vision is named the Fata Morgana after King Arthur's half sister,
the fairy Morgan le Fay, who according to legend lived in a shining
palace beneath the sea. However, the beautiful structures are only a
mirage. The mirage is caused by images of rippling waves and
sometimes a combination of the sea and distant buildings, cliffs, and
trees, all distorted by layers of hot and cold air over the channel.
Changing winds also vibrate the images, causing the illusion to oscillate
between sea, sky, brightness, darkness, castles, columns, and forests.
Similar mirages have now been sighted over
large water bodies and ice fields. Also called
Fata Morgana, they occur all over the world. For
instance, the Silent City of Alaska surfaces
every year on the Muir Glacier, and is claimed
by some to be a long-distance mirage of Bristol,
England (which is actually 2,500 miles away).
It actually originates in Alaska's own jagged topography and transformed
into a visual masterpiece by layers of air.
Fata Morgana, also known as
Morgan le Fay, was a fairy
enchantress skilled in the art of
changing shape. In one traditional
story she was King Arthur's sister
and learned many of her skills from
Merlin the Magician.
