fata morgana
FAH-tah mor-GAH-nah
A complex superior mirage that stacks, stretches, and inverts images of distant objects, making coastlines float above the sea and ships hang in the sky. The most elaborate lie the atmosphere tells.
Etymology
Italian, named for Morgan le Fay (Fata Morgana), the Arthurian sorceress said to conjure phantom castles over the Strait of Messina.
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