Rare 'iceberg' mirage captured by Nanoose, B.C. woman
A Nanoose, B.C. woman who is considering a life of professional photography already has a head start on her plans after photographing a phenomenon rarely caught on camera – or even seen in person.
Simone Engels was out at Moorecroft Park in Nanoose on Jan. 9 trying to capture sunset images when her eye caught something unusual.
"It was blowing my mind," Engels says. "I did not know exactly what (I was) looking at, all these questions went through my mind right away."
Engels was seeing, and then photographed, what she first thought was an iceberg in the distance off the park. But even then, she knew that was highly unlikely.
"If it had floated by Campbell River someone would have called it in and that was the piece that didn’t quite make sense for it to be an iceberg," she says.
She captured images of what turned out to be a phenomenon she believes was a "superior mirage."
Alexandra Blair is the chair of the Mathematics and Sciences Department at North Island College and describes what occurred.
"We can describe our light as waves and we had a temperature inversion so the lower air was colder than the higher air, which doesn’t happen that often," she says.
"Because of the air being different temperatures and therefore different densities, it refracts the light and sort of bends down our light waves," Blair says.
The result was that Engels was able to see and photograph something that wasn’t actually there.
"I looked through the zoom lens and thought this is so crisp and clear that it really had me stumped, it was so convincing that it was real," she says.
She captured images and shared them through photography Facebook groups and got instant feedback.
"A lot of them were blown away just like I was when I saw it, and they said, 'Wow, what an opportunity to take a picture of that phenomenon,'" Engels says.
Those groups helped her pin down what she was actually capturing, a view of Mount Cheam in Chilliwack, B.C., more than 200 kilometres away.
"A friend of mine on Facebook actually overlaid the two images, my image with Mount Cheam, and it was the perfect match," she says.
Blair says Engels was in the right place at the right time to see the phenomenon, which has a long history.
"Back in the day when sailors had talked about swimming cities or saw some ghost boats, that’s most likely what happened," Blair says.
Engels says she treasures the experience.
"I do meditate on a fairly regular basis and I was inviting more mystical experiences in my life and just a couple of days later I come here and I see this thing," Engels says.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Iran fires at suspected Israeli attack drones near Isfahan air base and nuclear site
Iran fired air defences at a major air base and a nuclear site early Friday morning near the central city of Isfahan after spotting drones, which were suspected to be part of an Israeli attack in retaliation for Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.
NEW After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
In his new book 'As Long as You Need', hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Trend Line Anger, pessimism towards federal government reach six-year high: Nanos survey
Most Canadians in March reported feeling angry or pessimistic towards the federal government than at any point in the last six years, according to a survey by Nanos Research.
NEW From window blinds to motorcycle helmets, here are the recalls in Canada this week
Here are the various items Health Canada recalled this week, including motorcycle helmets, power adapters, and bicycle cranksets.
DEVELOPING Israel targets air defence system in Syria, state news agency says
Israel carried out a missile strike targeting an air defence unit in southern Syria, causing material damage, state-run SANA news agency quoted a military statement as saying Friday.
Colin Jost names one celebrity who is great at hosting 'Saturday Night Live'
Colin Jost, who co-anchors Saturday Night Live's 'Weekend Update,' revealed who he thinks is one of the best hosts on the show.
Stabbed Sydney Assyrian church bishop says he forgives attacker
An Assyrian church bishop who was stabbed during a service at his church said on Thursday he was recovering quickly, and that he had forgiven his attacker as police ramped up investigation into the riots triggered after the bishop's stabbing.