The mirage baffled passengers on a day trip
A mysterious mirage caused giant figures to appear above the sea off the Cornish coast – leaving people struggling to explain the bizarre sight. The strange spectacle was spotted by passengers aboard a sightseeing boat near St Ives, with witnesses describing mysterious shapes that appeared to hover over the horizon and shift form before their eyes.
Photographs captured during the trip show what look like enormous structures suspended above the water, prompting astonishment among those on board. Some passengers estimated the eerie formations appeared to be more than 100 metres tall as they loomed in the distance.
The phenomenon was spotted during a sea safari operated by St Ives Boats, which had taken passengers out along the Cornish coastline when the unusual sight emerged. Witnesses said the shapes appeared to morph and change, adding to the mystery surrounding the spectacle.
In a post online, St Ives Boats said: “It was surreal seeing these huge ‘structures’ and weird atmospheric changes and we and our passengers were just stunned at times. We’re sure that it was a visual distortion of the carrier and others of container ships all of which by this point were many miles away.”
The dramatic effect is believed to have been caused by a rare optical illusion known as a Fata Morgana. The phenomenon occurs when light bends as it passes through layers of air at different temperatures, causing distant objects to appear distorted, stretched or elevated above the horizon.
A Fata Morgana is named after Morgan le Fay, the shape-shifting sorceress and half-sister of King Arthur in Arthurian legend.
Under the right atmospheric conditions, ships, coastlines and other distant objects can seem to float in mid-air or take on bizarre new shapes. The illusion has fascinated observers for centuries and is often linked to folklore and legends, with tales of phantom islands, floating castles and magical lands thought to have been inspired by similar sightings.
The images quickly sparked debate online, with social media users offering their own theories – and jokes – about what they were seeing. One said: “It’s just AT-AT walker. Nothing to worry about…”
Another said: “Ghost ships in the mist from years gone past.”
A third said: “I thought it was a bridge being built”
A final simply put: “Aliens!”
