re: #293 makeitstop

In order to get away from Kavapalooza on Friday, my wife and I hit the road and drove up to Bear Mountain for some hiking and quiet. After visiting their zoo and having a beer at the lodge, we drove up to the summit of the mountain, and of course I had my camera with me.

I was snapping away at nearby stuff when my wife asked ‘Is that Manhattan?’

Odd question to ask, out in the middle of nowhere. But she pointed off in a general direction and I finally saw what she was talking about. I swapped lenses for a telephoto and got this shot.

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It’s about 50 miles from Manhattan to Bear Mountain. Despite overall graininess, this is now one of my favorite photos.

It must look pretty spectacular at night.

Actually, it would not be visible at night.

The effect is called a superior mirage (Wikipedia explanation)

Such a mirage occurs when the air over the city is colder than the air above, causing the light rays from the distant object to bend along the curve of the earth.

Superior mirages often cause Chicago to be seen in Michigan.

Such mirages are also used in many YouTube videos to “prove” Earth is really flat, as the horizon according to their so-called “globe heads” standing on the ground is 2.9 miles.