‘Floating’ ship spotted off Cornwall coast
Rare optical illusion left photographer ‘stunned’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A large tanker appeared to be floating off the south coast of England in an optical illusion caused by a rare weather phenomenon.
David Morris was walking along the coast by Falmouth in Cornwall when he spotted the extraordinary optical illusion.
He captured it on camera and later said he was "stunned" by the sight.
The phenomenon is known as a "superior mirage", according to BBC meteorologist David Braine, who said the ship appeared to be floating due to "special atmospheric conditions that bend light".
Mr Braine said the mirage is common in the Arctic circle but can only very rarely be seen during the UK in winter.
He said: "Superior mirages occur because of the weeather condition known as a temperature inversion."
Usually the air temperature drops as altitude rises, hence the peak of Ben Nevis being colder than Bournemouth beach, but in a temperature inversion warm air sits on top of a band of cold air and plays with the human eye's perception.
"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 distant an object appears," Mr Braine said.
"Superior mirages can produce a few different types of images, here a distant ship appears to float high above its actual position, but sometimes an object below the horizon can become visible."
A similar sight was spottedin Banff, Aberdeenshire earlier in the week by Colin McCallum, who shared his photo online with the caption: “Floating boat”.
He was not fooled however, despite doing a “double-take”, and explained the phenomenon to viewers.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments