Cornwall: Ship appears to float in optical illusion
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Footage taken showed a ship appearing to hover in mid-air just off of Perranporth in Cornwall. The phenomenon meant it looked as though a tanker was above houses.
Lizzi Larbalestier, who took the pictures, shared the mysterious images after spotting the ship on Thursday.
Ms Larbalestier, a Blue Health Coach and British Divers Marine Life Rescue member said: “I spotted it off Perranporth on Thursday around 10.45am.
“The ship has been around a few days now, sitting on the horizon but as I came home from walking Goose, my dog, I did a double take as it seemed to be flying.
“The optical illusion stayed for at least half an hour … and like people do with most optical illusions or magic tricks I was trying to track what it was or how it worked.”
Also co-founder of marine conservation group Ghostnetbusters, Ms Larbalestier told Cornwall Live: “Now I know it is light bending. Very, very cool and something I have never seen before despite spending my entire life around water.
“I love that every day the ocean can surprise us with weird illusions.”
It marked the latest incident of the mirage-like phenomenon, where a boat was also seen hovering in June.
The boat, a large cargo ship, was seen in the distance from Lizard Point, on the west Cornish peninsula.
Photographer Liam Ball snapped the boat, which seemed to float in the sky, on June 13 and posted the image to Twitter where dozens of people marvelled at the weird illusion.
In March 2021, David Morris took a photo of a ship near Falmouth, also in Cornwall, which again appeared to be hovering.
Mr Morris said he was “stunned” after capturing the picture while looking out to sea from the hamlet of Gillan.
BBC meteorologist David Braine said the “superior mirage” occurred because of “special atmospheric conditions that bend light”.
He said the illusion is common in the Arctic but can appear “very rarely” in the UK during winter.
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In March 2021, David Morris took a photo of a ship near Falmouth, also in Cornwall, which again appeared to be hovering.
Mr Morris said he was “stunned” after capturing the picture while looking out to sea from the hamlet of Gillan.
BBC meteorologist David Braine said the “superior mirage” occurred because of “special atmospheric conditions that bend light”.
He said the illusion is common in the Arctic but can appear “very rarely” in the UK during winter.
Mr Braine told the BBC: “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.
“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.
“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.”
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