
Arctic Mirage (Hillingar) | Geophysical Institute
Apr 3, 2025 · In the arctic mirage a distant object appears right way up but higher up than the actual location. Though arctic and desert mirages seem to be quite different, they share a common fundamental cause.
The Highest Mirage in North America | Geophysical Institute
Mar 2, 1995 · Is the Great One a grand illusion? Is the tallest mountain in North America a mirage? A friend recently told me that the Mount McKinley we see as a huge lump on the southwest Fairbanks horizon is actually an impostor, an optical illusion that really isn't there. She said that because of the curvature of the Earth, we shouldn't be able to see the mountain from …
Fata Morgana | Geophysical Institute
Mar 13, 2025 · Fata Morgana, also known as Morgan le Fay, was a fairy enchantress skilled in the art of changing shape. In one traditional story she was King Arthur's sister and learned many of her skills from Merlin the Magician. A special type of complex mirage, one that sometimes gives the impression of a castle half in the air and half in the sea, is named after Fata Morgana. She …
Mirages | Geophysical Institute
Apr 3, 2025 · Even when the air is stagnant, there is enough air movement to cause the mirage images to come and go rapidly. Unfortunately, the same layering that gives us glorious mirages compounds the severe air pollution problem in the Fairbanks area.
Tanana Valley Mirages - Geophysical Institute
Jan 23, 2025 · The Arctic mirage is a different story altogether. During inversion conditions in the Tanana Valley, there is a layer of dense, cold air next to the ground with warmer air overlying it. Under these conditions light rays between two points are bent downward (convex upward), making it appear that distant objects are higher than they actually are. This produces the …
The Parry Arc - Geophysical Institute
Jan 9, 2025 · Was this a mirage, the northern lights or what? A possible explanation is the Parry arc named after the explorer, W. E. Parry, who first reported seeing the phenomenon while searching for a northwest passage in 1819-1820.
Pingos Pop Up in Alaska's North Country - Geophysical Institute
Jul 31, 1997 · Many people have no doubt puzzled at the word "pingo" after spotting it on a topographic map. After you see one, the name seems to fit.
Unusual Events in the Sky | Geophysical Institute
4 days ago · Fireball meteors, auroras, noctilucent clouds, mirage phenomena, atmospheric dust, city lights reflected from clouds, earthquake lights, lightning, forest fires, ice crystals and raindrops in the air, plus a host of other phenomena can create strange effects.
The Aleutians, 1942--Revisited - Geophysical Institute
The Harrier is fairly bulky, intended primarily for ground support, and does not have the fighter potential of the sleek Mirage. But it does not require long runways on which to take off or land, and can even hover like a helicopter. Performance alone probably will not decide the contest between these two aircraft.
Death of a Temperature Inversion | Geophysical Institute
Jan 29, 2004 · By Ann’s Greenhouses, less than one mile later, the temperature was plus 8. We stopped at a pullout near Ann’s and noticed that the spruce trees on the hillsides seemed to be shimmering, a mirage-type effect caused by warm air mixing with cold and wreaking havoc with the light rays reflected from the trees.