{"id":120992,"date":"2021-04-13T13:52:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-13T13:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=120992"},"modified":"2021-04-13T13:52:00","modified_gmt":"2021-04-13T13:52:00","slug":"bizarre-floating-ship-spotted-off-british-coast-in-latest-mind-bending-optical-illusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/world-news\/bizarre-floating-ship-spotted-off-british-coast-in-latest-mind-bending-optical-illusion\/","title":{"rendered":"Bizarre 'floating ship' spotted off British coast in latest mind-bending optical illusion"},"content":{"rendered":"

A BIZARRE 'floating ship' has been spotted off the British coast following a string of mind-bending optical illusions.<\/p>\n

The vessel was captured from a pub garden in Minster On Sea, Kent, leaving onlookers baffled. <\/p>\n


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The ship appeared to be hovering in the sky, well above the horizon and seemingly out of the water.<\/p>\n

But a rare optical illusion is to blame for the bizarre appearance – which follows a string of similar sightings last month.<\/p>\n

One man in Falmouth, Cornwall, was left "extremely baffled" just weeks ago when he spotted a large vessel apparently floating just above the waves.<\/p>\n

Days earlier, several cruise ships were also seen "hovering" above the waters off the coast of Paignton, Devon<\/p>\n

Then Colin McCallum spotted a large red "floating vessel" on the horizon as he travelled through Banff, Aberdeenshire.<\/p>\n

The phenomenon – known as Fata Morgana – is created when the sun heats up the atmosphere above either the land or the sea.<\/p>\n

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A layer of warmer air sits on top of a layer of cold air, causing the light from the ship to bend and making colours blend together.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

For a Fata Morgana to appear, the atmospheric conditions have to be just right,\u00a0the Mail Online reports.<\/p>\n

It starts with a cold air mass close to the ground or surface of the water that is topped by a warm layer of air higher in the atmosphere.<\/p>\n

And although the phenomenon can occur on land, they are more common at sea because water helps to form the cool air layer required.<\/p>\n

BBC meteorologist David Braine previously said the phenomenon is caused conditions in the atmosphere which bend light.\u00a0<\/p>\n

"Superior mirages occur because of the weather condition known as a temperature inversion, where cold air lies close to the sea with warmer air above it," he said.<\/p>\n

"Since cold air is denser than warm air, it bends light towards the eyes of someone standing on the ground or on the coast, changing how a distant object appears."<\/p>\n

The mirage takes its name from Morgan le Fay – a sorceress from Arthurian legend – said to use her witchcraft to lure unwitting sailors into her traps.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The mirage is thought to be the reason for sightings of the Flying Dutchman, a 17th century "ghost ship" doomed to sail the seas forever.<\/p>\n


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So what is Fata Morgana?<\/h3>\n

A FATA Morgana is created when a layer of warmer air sits on top of a layer of cold air, causing the light to bend more than normal.<\/p>\n

For a Fata Morgana to appear, the atmospheric conditions have to be just right.<\/p>\n

It starts with a cold air mass close to the ground or surface of the water that is topped by a warm layer of air higher in the atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Although the phenomenon can occur on land, they are more common at sea because water helps to form the cool air layer required.<\/p>\n

Floating ships – like those which have been seen off Britain recently – are just one possible effect of the Fata Morgana.<\/p>\n

It can warp, distort and obscure images – squashing them, making them blend into the horizon, or even producing chilling spooky inversions where a mirror image appears above the object. <\/p>\n

Fata Morgana can also take the form of a "sea hedge" – which almost appears like a wall or cliff of water around the horizon.<\/p>\n

The phenomena has been linked to numerous folklore tales, such as the infamous ghost ship the Flying Dutchman.<\/p>\n

It has also been blamed for the appearances of phantom islands, such as the legendary Sannikov Land in Russia and the non-existence of the mountain-range of the Croker Mountains. <\/p>\n

More recently Fata Morgana has been linked to sightings of UFOs and it is increasingly caught on camera.<\/p>\n

Numerous photos document the mirage which show warped images of ships on the horizon, glistening walls of water appearing out to sea, or even cities in the sky. <\/p>\n

The mirage takes its name from Morgan le Fay – a sorceress from Arthurian legend – said to use her witchcraft to lure unwitting sailors into her traps.\u00a0<\/p>\n