Mirage of astronomical objects

As a matter of fact, it is at least a three-image mirage of a sunspot, and all these images show a clear vertical direction.

The sun seemed to sink with greater rapidity as it approached the sea ; it threw a long trail of dazzling light over the trembling surface of the water ; its disk soon changed from a shade of old gold, to fiery red, and, through their half-closed eyes, seemed to glitter with all the varying shades of a kaleidoscope.

Faint, waving lines streaked the quivering trail of light cast on the surface of the water, like a spangled mass of glittering gems.

Not the faintest sign of cloud, haze, or mist was visible along the whole of the horizon, which was as clearly defined as a black line traced on white paper.

Then, through the refraction of the rays, its disk seemed to change till it looked like an Etruscan vase, with bulging sides, standing on the water.On very rare occasions the mirages of astronomical objects other than the Sun and the Moon might be observed.

"[5] Hailstones are a rare event in deserts and are a good precondition for creating a mock/superior mirage of the setting sun.

[4] A poem is quoted from the Book of Jasher, which states that the Sun stood still at Gibeon, and the Moon in the valley of Ajalon, in order that Joshua could complete the battle.

[6] 10.12 Then spoke Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel; and he said in the sight of Israel: 'Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon.10.13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies.

In ordinary atmospheric conditions, the setting or rising Sun appears to be about half a degree above its geometric position.

However, due to changes in air pressure, relative humidity, and other quantities, the exact effects of atmospheric refraction on sunrise and sunset time cannot be predicted.

The Novaya Zemlya effect is a mirage caused by high refraction of sunlight between atmospheric thermoclines.

An astronomical observation we took in the afternoon showed that the sun must in reality have been 2° 22' below the horizon at noon; we cannot expect to see its disk above the ice before Tuesday at the earliest; it depends on the refraction, which is very strong in this cold air.

It is possible to observe the Novaya Zemlya effect in any place, where the temperature variations are great enough to produce a high refraction.Green flash is a rare optical phenomenon that occurs during or shortly after set and during or before rise of a bright astronomical object, when a green spot is visible for a short period of time above a mirage of an astronomical object or its set/rise point.

If luck be thereAnd it catch your stare,Your fortune turns my mate.Night sky is redSmooth sail ahead,A charmed life is your fate.Sure as Neptune guidesThe ocean tides,Where his dolphins leap and splash.Favorable daysAwait those who gaze'Pon the Mystical Green Flash.

From the above observation it is clear that the author observed an inferior mirage green flash, when the much warmer surface of the desert with the help of the rising Sun was fighting the cool morning air, producing in the process a green flash – one of nature's great spectacles.

This may be true, but it might be that a color of the setting or the rising planet is mistaken for a real green flash that is a by-product of a mirage.

The color of the upper limb of an astronomical object could go from blue to green to violet depending on the decrease in concentration of pollutants as they spread throughout an increasing volume of atmosphere.

SEEN FOR HALF HOURThere was a rush for the surface and as eyes turned southward, they saw a tiny but brilliant green spot where the last ray of the upper limb of the sun hung on the skyline.

Altogether it remained on the horizon with short interruptions for thirty-five minutes.When it disappeared momentarily it seemed to have been shut off by a tiny spurt, an inequality in the skyline caused by the barrier surface.

Numerous atmospheric effects, such as vog, clouds, smoke, smog and others could generate a mirage like appearance of an astronomical object.