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I took this photo. Above the horizon there is a thick line that looks like a cloud, but it surely isn't. Is this a Fata Morgana? What do you think?

The Image

Fata Morgana?

Andrey S
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    I'd say no. it is not something that looks "floating" or "mysterious" It just looks like the density of clouds are thicker back there due to the angle of view being more straight through there. – Michael Nielsen Jun 20 '13 at 18:36
  • I have a feeling this would be a question for Physics.StackExchange.com – Danny T. Jun 20 '13 at 18:57
  • Already did – Andrey S Jun 20 '13 at 19:25
  • I'd say "maybe". If there is nothing but open water beyond the horizon, then the line just above the horizon is almost certainly a mirage, but probably doesn't meet the stricter definition of a Fata Morgana. When clouds appear more dense near the horizon they usually go from sparse to dense in a more gradual transition than seen here. When a line of thick clouds created by a weather front are observed on the horizon they rarely, if ever, have a uniform height above the horizon. For this to be a line of clouds they would have to be shaped in a perfect parabola perpendicular to the camera! – Michael C Jun 20 '13 at 22:16
  • @MichaelClark I agree with you. The fact that the height of the layer is so uniform, makes me think it's some kind of a mirage. Maybe Fata Morgana is an inappropriate name to this phenomena. I think a superior mirage is better. – Andrey S Jun 20 '13 at 23:24
  • I do not believe this is a mirage of any kind. A mirage has a certain characteristic about it that see no trace of in this image. I am also not sure about other claims that clouds on the horizon "cannot" be that flat and even...sure they can, particularly if they are fairly low altitude clouds or fog. Personally, I'd call what I am seeing Stratocumulus clouds off near the horizon, and stretching around the curve of the earth beyond it. The kind of FLAT, very LOW clouds you generally see spanning the edge of very large cyclonic systems (that eventually build up into cumulonimbus anvils.) – jrista Jun 20 '13 at 23:48
  • @jrista I found this image of a superior mirage at San Francisco. Aren't they similar? – Andrey S Jun 20 '13 at 23:54
  • I was recently on the east coast when one of the first hurricanes of the season hit florida. I had a flight from Connecticut to North Carolina. The hurricane, which died down to tropical storm status, had multiple layers of clouds. For around a FIVE HUNDRED MILES, there was a layer of clouds only a few hundred feet thick, not more than 100-200 feet off the ground. It was over an hour before my flight intersected higher altitude clouds, which built up in layers around what was eventually a fully stacked series of cumulonimbus anvils around the cyclone and eye of the storm. – jrista Jun 20 '13 at 23:55
  • @AndreyB: No, they are not similar at all. Your link of the mirage at San Francisco has that very specific characteristic, one of superimposed inverted virtual reflections, that is 100% entirely lacking in your photo. I see no resemblance to a mirage in your shot...only stratocumulus, or possibly nimbostratus, clouds spanning the horizon. – jrista Jun 20 '13 at 23:56
  • N/P. A mirage, one way or another, is basically a reflection of whatever is near the horizon reflecting off of differing thermal layers of the atmosphere. They almost always have the appearance of a reflection, and usually have a very fluid appearance to them over time. Fata Morgana is simply a more complex form of mirage that involves a very specific setup of thermal layers, and at least one inverted and upright set of reflections, where as other forms of mirage may have only an inverted or only an upright reflection. You would know if what our seeing is a mirage. – jrista Jun 21 '13 at 00:07

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