Go Back   Winnipesaukee Forum > Winnipesaukee Forums > Weather
Home Forums Gallery Webcams Blogs YouTube Channel Classifieds Calendar Register FAQDonate Members List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 12-20-2010, 01:09 PM   #1
Gearhead
Senior Member
 
Gearhead's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Alton
Posts: 166
Thanks: 13
Thanked 19 Times in 8 Posts
Default Can a mirage magnify?

I'm posting this one in "Weather" because I can't imagine anyone else who can explain it:

You know how the moon always looks bigger when it's on the horizon, and they say it's only an illusion? Well, is there an explanation for an object on the horizon being dramatically magnified? I'm thinking a mirage or something like that.

Allow me to explain:

Growing up at York Beach, ME, I looked out on the horizon every day to see Boon island six miles away. Most days in the summer you see the mirage of the island and the lighthouse appearing to float above the water. I understand that well enough. Here's the part that I don't understand, but my wife and I saw perfectly: One hot, humid Summer evening about 7:30 to 8:00PM, we drove up to the Nubble light parking lot to check out the scenery and have an ice cream. As I drove into the parking lot, I saw something adjacent to the island (Nubble). At first I thought it was a barge because it was wide and flat with a mast or something, but as I drove up to a parking space, I realized it was Boon island! The detail was amazing, including the white tops of the rocks (thanks to the seagulls) and the birds themselves. It looked like it was a half-mile away, but as we looked at it and the sun (behind us) began to set, we watched it shrink back and eventually everything but the light disappeared behind the horizon. There were quite a lot of people standing outside watching, but it was back in the day when we didn't have cameras on our cell phones, so we don't have a photo.

I know what a mirage looks like, and I've seen the mirage of Boon a thousand times but this was quite different.

Any explanations?

GH
Gearhead is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-21-2010, 12:21 AM   #2
Rattlesnake Guy
Senior Member
 
Rattlesnake Guy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,254
Thanks: 423
Thanked 366 Times in 175 Posts
Default

Having the sun behind you gave you the brightest contrast between the white rocks and the water. Light striking the water would bounce away. Light striking the rocks would bounce the light back to you. The improved lighting conditions made the island much easier to see.

Next time you see the moon rise, position your thumb sideways at arms length and use it to measure the size of the moon. Then check it overhead. It is an illusion.

Mirages cause light to bend like the wet looking highway on a hot day at low angle. This bending can cause fun house mirror effects in one axis. Not aware of any natural phenomenon that cause light to bend in a circular manner which would be required to magnify something like a lens. In other words if the moon was being magnified at the horizon it would be an ellipse.
Rattlesnake Guy is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Rattlesnake Guy For This Useful Post:
Gearhead (12-21-2010), Rattlesnake Gal (12-21-2010)
Old 12-22-2010, 12:59 PM   #3
Kamper
Senior Member
 
Kamper's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Thornton's Ferry
Posts: 1,295
Thanks: 67
Thanked 165 Times in 125 Posts
Default

I read something about that once. It's a mind trick. Put up a hand to block out the background image and the moon will apear the same size compared to your hand, as it will when fully risen.
Kamper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-23-2010, 03:02 PM   #4
SIKSUKR
Senior Member
 
SIKSUKR's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 5,075
Thanks: 215
Thanked 903 Times in 509 Posts
Default

I went to rehab for the same problem.
__________________
SIKSUKR
SIKSUKR is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:42 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.

This page was generated in 0.24617 seconds