Coastal mirage effects. Montage of images illustrating a superior mirage of a distant coastline. The eight vertical photo strips are of the same area, seen successively over time from right to left. At far right, the coastline (15 kilometres away) is seen normally. Buildings are a thin white strip. As the sequence progresses, a temperature inversion affects the light, causing the view to be stretched vertically. A superior mirage is where the air below is cooler than that above, causing the light rays to curve downward, producing an image above the object being viewed. Photographed in July at Cap Caval (Bigouden) in the Bay of Audierne, Brittany, France.