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Summer has arrived and so has the heat and, with it, mirages on the road also arrive, as can be seen in this photograph that I have captured for La Vanguardia’s Readers’ Photos.
Both heat, gases and traffic directly affect the condition of the road. We see the road as if it were water, as if we saw an oasis in the desert and when we get closer the mirage disappears.
In this image we see the mirage on the road with cars that seem to fly. I have captured it in Amposta, the capital of the Montsià region.
A mirage is an optical phenomenon in which light rays are bent through refraction and produce a displaced image. This characteristic effect of summer is perceived when looking at a road in the distance where it seems as if the asphalt has become puddled and you can even see the sky reflected.
The air in contact with the torrid soil is heated and its density varies so that the colder air remains above the warmer air, which is heated by the radiation reflected by the soil. This creates an uneven density in the air giving it various refractive indices. For a mirage to occur, the day must be clear and the sun’s rays must be refracted.
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Summer mirage on the road, in Amposta.
Emili Vilamala
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