Can a mirage magnify?
 

I'm posting this one in "Weather" because I can't imagine anyone else who can explain it:

You know how the moon always looks bigger when it's on the horizon, and they say it's only an illusion? Well, is there an explanation for an object on the horizon being dramatically magnified? I'm thinking a mirage or something like that.

Allow me to explain:

Growing up at York Beach, ME, I looked out on the horizon every day to see Boon island six miles away. Most days in the summer you see the mirage of the island and the lighthouse appearing to float above the water. I understand that well enough. Here's the part that I don't understand, but my wife and I saw perfectly: One hot, humid Summer evening about 7:30 to 8:00PM, we drove up to the Nubble light parking lot to check out the scenery and have an ice cream. As I drove into the parking lot, I saw something adjacent to the island (Nubble). At first I thought it was a barge because it was wide and flat with a mast or something, but as I drove up to a parking space, I realized it was Boon island! The detail was amazing, including the white tops of the rocks (thanks to the seagulls) and the birds themselves. It looked like it was a half-mile away, but as we looked at it and the sun (behind us) began to set, we watched it shrink back and eventually everything but the light disappeared behind the horizon. There were quite a lot of people standing outside watching, but it was back in the day when we didn't have cameras on our cell phones, so we don't have a photo.

I know what a mirage looks like, and I've seen the mirage of Boon a thousand times but this was quite different.

Any explanations?

GH

Having the sun behind you gave you the brightest contrast between the white rocks and the water. Light striking the water would bounce away. Light striking the rocks would bounce the light back to you. The improved lighting conditions made the island much easier to see.

Next time you see the moon rise, position your thumb sideways at arms length and use it to measure the size of the moon. Then check it overhead. It is an illusion.

Mirages cause light to bend like the wet looking highway on a hot day at low angle. This bending can cause fun house mirror effects in one axis. Not aware of any natural phenomenon that cause light to bend in a circular manner which would be required to magnify something like a lens. In other words if the moon was being magnified at the horizon it would be an ellipse.

I read something about that once. It's a mind trick. Put up a hand to block out the background image and the moon will apear the same size compared to your hand, as it will when fully risen.

I went to rehab for the same problem.:laugh: