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For the second consecutive day, off the coast of Barcelona, ​​it has been possible to see the confluence of two phenomena: the mirage of Fata Morgana and the Omega optical effect, which gives the sun the shape of an Etruscan vase.
As we can see in The Photos of the Readers of La Vanguardia, today, at dawn, on the beach of Gavà , a spectacular Etruscan vase with a mirage (the ship seems to fly over the sea) has been spotted.
In other words, three phenomena in the same photograph: the Etruscan vase, the Fata Morgana and the seagull flying in the middle of the sun. It just seemed wonderful to me.
The so-called Omega effect is formed when the air, in contact with the surface, very dense and at the same time warmer, produces the refraction of light, which deforms the sun and creates the mirror effect.
When observing this optical illusion it seems that the base of the sun rests its “foot” on the horizon line that separates the sea from the sky. The writer Jules Verne had the impulse to compare this Omega effect with the shape of an Etruscan vase.
For its part, the Fata Morgana effect receives its name from the Italian fata Morgana (that is, fairy Morgana), in reference to the half-sister of King Arthur (Morgan le Fay) who, according to legend, was a changeling fairy.
It is a mirage or optical illusion that is due to a temperature inversion. Objects on the horizon, such as islands, cliffs, ships, or ice floes, take on a tall, elongated appearance, similar to fairy-tale castles.
