A viral video recording shocked netizens because it was initially mistaken for a flying saucer. In fact, the object is actually an island that seems to float.
Quoted from the Daily Mail, Saturday (21/8/2021) this video was recorded from a ship in Glacier Bay and posted to the Facebook page of Glacier Bay National Parks and Reserves. It explained that the footage shows a mirage effect distorting Lone Island in the mid-bay area of the Glacier Bay nature reserve. This national park spans 3.3 million hectares of snowcapped mountains, glaciers and rainforests.
"Did you see this mirage while in Glacier Bay? With a little imagination, the islands in the glacier bay seem to have turned into UFOs or flying saucers," wrote the Glacier Bay account in his post.
A mirage is a phenomenon in which an optical illusion usually occurs in a large field such as a desert or ice field. Mirage events occur due to the refraction of light through different densities, so that it can make something that doesn't appear to be there.
The video footage impressed netizens. But there are also those who think the video is fake and just a joke. The Glacier Bay account also answered these oblique comments.
"We didn't waste time making fake videos and sharing stories about our national park. This really happened, and everyone who was on board that day could attest to it. Enjoy this cool natural phenomenon!" reply to Glacier Bay account.
They also explain that mirage phenomena have been documented for centuries. And this mirage, in particular, is perhaps the one often referred to in the sailors' tales of the "Flying Dutchman," which to sailors looks like a ship flying just above the water's surface.
The Fyling Dutchman is a maritime legend about a floating ghost ship that sailors believed to be a harbinger of doom when seen on the horizon.
Mirage events are always interesting for those who see it. In June, residents in Cyprus, the Middle East, rushed to take photos when they saw three cruise ships drifting off the coast of the southern city of Limassol in a similar incident.
Spooky mirages have also occurred in parts of England, seen in Cornwall, Devon and Aberdeenshire earlier this year. In March, a beautiful beach portrait showed several boats hovering over the sea in Paignton, Devon.
Just a few days earlier, in Banff, Aberdeenshire, a health and safety worker spotted another ship that appeared to be floating and he paused to record a video of the strange sight.
And, that same month, a man who was strolling in Gillan, Cornwall, saw a red ship that seemed to be floating in the sky above the water. That's how the mirage phenomenon impressed people.