--- title: "Optical Illusion Photo Shows Huge Oil Tanker Hovering Over the Sea" description: "A bizarre photograph of a ship seemingly hovering above the sea off the coast of Cornwall, UK, made its rounds late Thursday." date: "2021-03-05" modified: "2021-03-05" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/bizarre-picture-tanker-hovering-above-sea" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "optical illusion" - "the digest" --- # Optical Illusion Photo Shows Huge Oil Tanker Hovering Over the Sea ![A bizarre photograph of a ship seemingly hovering above the sea off the coast of Cornwall, UK, made its rounds late Thursday.]() *\Image: Courtesy of David Morris\* ## Floating Ships A bizarre photograph of a ship seemingly hovering above the sea off the coast of Cornwall, UK, is [making its rounds]() online this week. The image, taken by local photographer David Morris, shows a giant oil tanker apparently defying gravity. But — shocker — the tanker hasn't actually found a way to defeat the laws of physics. Instead, [*The Guardian* reports, ]()it's an illusion caused by "temperature inversion." ## Defying Gravity The mirage is caused by warm air sitting on top of a layer of colder air, causing light to refract downwards towards the colder region. "Since cold air is denser than warm air, it bends light towards the eyes of someone standing on the ground or on the coast, changing how a distant object appears," *BBC* meteorologist David Braine told *The Guardian*. "Superior mirages can produce a few different types of images — here a distant ship appears to float high above its actual position, but sometimes an object below the horizon can become visible," he added. Here's a simple way to see right through the eye-tricking phenomenon if you ever find yourself staring at a floating ship: the bottom half of the ship, which is submerged in water, will be missing. **READ MORE:** [Walker 'stunned' to see ship hovering high above sea off Cornwall]() \[*The Guardian*\] **More on illusions:** *[Physicists Are Starting to Suspect Physical Reality Is an Illusion]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()