The effects of these distortions, displacements, etc. But because of the strong illusional nature of mirages, they have gained an air of magic about them, dwelling in story and legend along with gods and demons, fairies and magicians. Highway Mirage lies across roadway. Both of these forms are technically known as the inferior mirage , a form most often seen over a land surface. The terms inferior and superior are not commentaries on their quality of the mirage's appearance but refer to the perceived position of the image relative to the actual location of the object.
Inferior mirages appear below the actual object's true location.
Superior mirages are seen above the actual location. Mirages form when light rays emitted from a source or reflected off an object are bent as the path of the light ray crosses air layers of different densities. The technical term for this bending is refraction . You can perform a simple experiment to illustrate refraction. Place a long pencil or straw in a clear glass filled with water, then look at the pencil in the glass from the side.