3D Atmospheric Mirage Formation Simulator

Atmospheric Mirage — 3D

Temperature gradient dT/dh −3.0 K/m

Layer count 24

Object distance 1200 m

Object height 8 m

Mirage type

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Images detected

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Apparent image distortion

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How it works

Same physics as the 2D ray-diagram, applied directly to the geometry of a real 3D coastline: air's refractive index depends on temperature —

n(T) = 1 + 0.0786 / T      (T in kelvin)

— so a stack of horizontal temperature layers between the eye and the coastline bends light along the invariant n(h)·cosφ(h) = const. Rather than drawing the bent ray paths, this scene re-derives, for every thin horizontal slab of every rock/tower silhouette, where that slab's light actually arrives at the eye, then re-renders the slab at its apparent height and vertical stretch instead of its real one — live, as you move the gradient slider. A slab that folds past a total-internal-reflection boundary spawns a second, inverted ghost slab: the real mechanism behind a Fata Morgana's duplicated, floating bands.

Temperature gradient — negative (hot ground) produces an inferior mirage: low slabs compress toward the waterline and a false bright band appears beneath the coastline. Positive (a real inversion layer) produces a superior mirage: slabs stretch and lift, and strong inversions duplicate them into stacked ghost bands — visually indistinguishable from a hovering saucer to an untrained eye.
Layer count — resolution of the Snell-law slab stack used to march each ray.
Object distance — more accumulated bending over a longer path (rendered depth is fixed for framing; only the physics distance changes).
Object height — real scale of the coastline silhouette being distorted.

The translucent horizontal bands show the temperature/refractive-index layer stack itself (blue = cooler/denser air, orange = hotter/thinner air) so you can see which layer boundary is folding the image.

Real silhouette (reference) Apparent (mirage-distorted) Ghost image (TIR duplicate)

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