A view of ships looking like they are floating in the air over the water of the Azov sea was caught on camera by denizens of Krasnodar region in Russia. The footage appeared in “Typical Krasnodar”, a telegram channel.
Experts explained to Sputnik that this optical illusion is quiet typical for the region due to the difference in temperatures when the sea is cold yet, but air over it is already warm.
This phenomenon is widely known as Fata Morgana which translates from Italian as “Morgan the Fairy”, as such optical illusions were often observed in Strait of Messina near the Apennine Peninsula. People believed they saw fairy castles in the air or false land conjured by Morgan’s magic. The science behind Fata Morgana is simple - rays of light bend when they pass through air layers of different temperatures and thus floating ships and other mirages appear. Such optical illusions are typical for the Azov and Black Seas.