If you are a fan of fantasy books or movies like Harry Potter or Pirates of the Caribbean, images like boats and cars floating in the air are no longer strange.

It seems that these images only exist in magical, fantasy movies, but in fact, from a scientific perspective, seeing these images in real life is considered an illusory phenomenon.

Accordingly, an illusion is a phenomenon that can deceive our eyes because it looks like a real image when we are in a special environment.

For sailors, Fata Morgana is a transcendent illusion that no one wants to encounter during sea voyages.

Typically, Fatas Morganas will appear when light is refracted (or `bent`) by air temperatures contrasting with sea surface temperatures.

Named after the Harz mountain peak in Germany, this mirage phenomenon was first discovered by mountain climbers.

In reality, this is just their own shadow when the light is diffracted similar to the case of a rainbow when sunlight shines through tiny water droplets in the air.

Another name for this phenomenon is Sundog (sun dog) with bright spots appearing on either side of the real sun.

It is known that this phenomenon occurs when sunlight is refracted by ice crystals in the air.

This phenomenon is probably not too strange to followers of Hollywood movies.

However, as we approached, there weren’t any cool oases at all.

In the desert, the hottest air is near the sand surface and gradually cools as it rises.

The illusion of a city at sea is a unique phenomenon recorded since 1840 when it was discovered by a resident living on a small island in England.

However, like other phenomena, this is just a phenomenon when light rays are reflected by objects, constantly change direction and reach our eyes.

Source: Science Direct