Novaya Zemlya effect and Fata Morgana. Raytracing in a spherically non-symmetric atmosphere

Raytracing in a non-symmetric atmosphere is discussed and illustrated by new simulations of both historical and mythical observations, such as the Novaya Zemlya phenomenon seen by the Dutch in 1597 and Nansen’s sighting of it in 1894. An alternative interpretation is given of the mythical hafstramb...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Comptes Rendus. Physique
Main Author: van der Werf, Siebren
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
French
Published: Académie des sciences 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.5802/crphys.102
https://doaj.org/article/1f174132ba774ff1a39a794c8e9fbcaf
Description
Summary:Raytracing in a non-symmetric atmosphere is discussed and illustrated by new simulations of both historical and mythical observations, such as the Novaya Zemlya phenomenon seen by the Dutch in 1597 and Nansen’s sighting of it in 1894. An alternative interpretation is given of the mythical hafstramb monster in the Greenland Sea. Recent photographic material that shows mirages of the water surface is analyzed and a simulation presented. Raytracing techniques are reviewed and it is shown that numerical integration by distance is much preferred over other choices of the integration parameter.