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Christmas mirages

Turkey Track Bar

Well-known member
Merry Christmas!

Lazy Ace came in from chores this morning and said there were mirages, so I took some pics. Heck it looks like Tap and Liberty Belle lived in the Grand Canyon this morning!

In general, the mirages are what looks cloudy, and what is really here is what is clear in the pictures.

I hope you all have had a blessed Christmas day!

Cheers---

TTB :wink:

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This is a really cool butte which isn't anywhere near here. Any one recognize it? Tap is this your country?

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This farmsted isn't anywhere around here....is this your farmyard?

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Whose cows are these??? OT can you read the brands? They look so close but aren't around here!

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This mirage is a really weird one! The right half of the buildings are ours, but they aren't all there, and the left half are someone elses!

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Turkey Track Bar

Well-known member
Red Robin said:
That's crazy. I didn't know you could photograph them.

We didn't know that you could either. Lazy Ace was betting I couldn't...proved him wrong again! :wink:

Most of these look like they are at the Saler raising neighbor's (about 2 miles away, as the crow flies,) but sure aren't there!

Merry Christmas to you and your wonderful family RR. Thanks for the card!

Cheers---

TTB :wink:
 

Red Robin

Well-known member
Thanks TTB. What makes those things look close? We don't have them here. I guess you have to be able to see the horizion at a distance. Our horizion is always close, like the next hill top. :wink:

Btw Merry Christmas to you guys TTB. I hope Lazy Ace got you a box of Okra.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
I've never tried photographing them either-- will have to next time...Mirages always fascinate me- and sometimes we get lots of them...

Not sure TTB- but I think I saw some lazy bar B's in that bunch :wink: :lol: :lol:
 

feeder

Well-known member
I always wondered what mirages looked like when all you guys talk about them. That was neat. Thanks for sharing.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Red Robin said:
Thanks TTB. What makes those things look close? We don't have them here. I guess you have to be able to see the horizion at a distance. Our horizion is always close, like the next hill top. :wink:

A correct definition can be found in the American Meteorological Society's Glossary of Weather and Climate. It states:

"Mirage: A refraction phenomenon wherein an image of some distant object is made to appear displaced from its true position because of large vertical density variations near the surface; the image may appear distorted, inverted, or wavering.

The effects of these distortions, displacements, etc. of the image create many of the optical illusions we see in a mirage. Although the mind may misinterpret the mirage image it receives from our eyes, the image is no figure of the imagination -- it can be photographed. But because of the strong illusional nature of mirages, they have gained an air of magic about them, dwelling in story and legend along with gods and demons, fairies and magicians.

Mirages form when light rays emitted from a source or reflected off an object are bent as the path of the light ray crosses air layers of different densities. The technical term for this bending is refraction.

The index of refraction for air varies with the density of the air. Air density is strongly dependent on its pressure, temperature and water vapour content

http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/elements/mirage1.htm
 

Jassy

Well-known member
That is very interesting...thanks OT for posting the definition...I'm amazed how the camera picked up the images...
 

Soapweed

Well-known member
Those are great pictures, TTB. We occasionally see mirages in this country, and they are fun to gaze upon. For some reason, I've seen this happen several times in recent years, but can't remember ever seeing them in the first two thirds of my life. The fact that they show up so well in your pictures is amazing. Thanks for posting them.
 

the_jersey_lilly_2000

Well-known member
That's just plain strange, and neat at the same time. Only mirages we have around here are when it's extremely hot and you see what looks like water on the highway. Never, even livin in West texas where it's flat like that have I seen anything like that.
Only thing maybe that could have been that, is the Big Bend mountains that we could sometimes see on a real clear day, about 150 miles away. But I don't know if a mirage carries that far. ???? But they weren't blurry.....so???
 

Tap

Well-known member
Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures TTB. I talked about doing that a while back, but never have the camera with me when I see them. This winter I have seen more mirages than ever. Yesterday as we went to the Black Hills, it looked as if the Black Hills were WAY longer and higher on one side of them, then they actually are. I have seen some buttes called Deers Ears look like huge mountains lately. Most mirages around here are seen to the north, but these have been to the south of here lately. Yours were evidently to the west of you.

I do not know what you were "seeing" for sure, but most mirages are an extension of something just on the horizon away from you. The Slim Buttes might be possibly what you were seeing, but I think that would be too far away.

Either way, they were very nifty looking, and some of the best I have seen.
 

Turkey Track Bar

Well-known member
Thanks for the comments.

Tap and OT: Thanks for all of your info. Here we normally see mirages to the northeast. These were to the west or northwest. I showed these photos Lazy Ace's parents and grandparents last evening.

Lazy Ace's Dad said he saw huge mountains (to the east or northeast) as he went to cake our cows that are east of us. He would have seen them the same time we saw these.

A quick question, that I think Tap kinda answered---is the actual mirage image the same direction that you see the mirage? I would seem weird that lazy ace's Dad saw mountains that are indeed either east or northeast of us. However for us to see buttes, canyons, and farmsteads west or northwest of us is very likely.

Cool things they are....

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Christmas....only one week until the new year, where has time gone this year?

Cheers----

TTB :wink:
 

Mrs.Greg

Well-known member
Greg and I are very impressed...we see lots of mirages,and in the last two-three weeks its been quite alot. What we think is soo cool is the pics,we never thought of taking picturs,really didn't think they would work so good.Way to go TTB...we'll try next time we see a city thats an hour away look like its right beside us.
 

nr

Well-known member
Amazing pictures Turkey TrackB. We only get the "water on the highway" type. It is easy to understand why folks might get completely disoriented. Thank you for posting!
 
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