Fata Morgana (mirage)
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A Fata Morgana is a complex form of superior mirage visible in a narrow band right above the horizon. The term Fata Morgana is the Italian translation of "Morgan the Fairy". These mirages are often seen in the Italian Strait of Messina, and were described as fairy castles in the air or false land conjured by her magic.
A Fata Morgana seen over the Baltic Sea, 2016. The mirage consists of multiple upright and inverted images over the original object.
A Fata Morgana of a cargo ship seen off the coast of Oceanside, California
Schematic diagram explaining the Fata Morgana mirage
A sequence of a Fata Morgana of the Farallon Islands as seen from San Francisco
Mirage
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A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French (se) mirer, from the Latin mirari, meaning "to look at, to wonder at".
An inferior mirage seen in the Mojave Desert in a Nevada spring
A hot-road mirage, in which "fake water" appears on the road, is the most commonly observed instance of an inferior mirage.
Heat haze seen through exhaust gas from a jet engine
Above: A superior mirage of a plane on ice, McMurdo Station Below: An artificial mirage, using sugar solutions to simulate the inversion layers.