Mirage
![Various kinds of mirages in one location taken over the course of six minutes, not shown in temporal order. The uppermost inset frame shows an inferior mirage of the Farallon Islands. The second inset frame is the Farallon Islands with a green flash on the left-hand side. The two lower frames and the main frame all show superior mirages of the Farallon Islands. In these three frames, the superior mirages evolve from a 3-image mirage (an inverted image between two erect ones) to a 5-image mirage, and then back to a 2-image mirage. Such a display is consistent with a Fata Morgana. All frames but the upper one were photographed from about 50–70 feet above sea level. The upper frame was photographed from sea level.](/Images/godic/202501/20/Farallon_Islands_at_inferior_mirage_no_mirage_and_superior_mirage5352.jpg")
![An inferior mirage on the Mojave Desert in spring](/Images/godic/202501/20/Desertmirage5352.jpg")
![Heat haze caused by jet engine exhaust](/Images/godic/202501/20/Swiss_F-5E_at_Fairford5352.JPG")
![A hot-road mirage,](/Images/godic/202501/20/Hot_road_mirage5352.jpg")
A mirage is a naturally occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays are bent to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French mirage, from the Latin mirari, meaning "to look at, to wonder at". This is the same root as for "mirror" and "to admire".