When is it the Least Refracted? (and how do you know?) @heathcarmody2867

Heath Carmody | When is it the Least Refracted? (and how do you know?) @heathcarmody2867 | Uploaded September 2021 | Updated October 2024, 1 day ago.
Quick video of a nice mirage transition that I felt was quite revealing, but requires some detailed explanation (not contained within this video). I put this out to get some feedback and discussion going that will hopefully motivate me to get the longer video finished.

$When is it the Least Refracted? (and how do you know?)$

$An Observation for each Earth Model! After a long summer break from making new observations and videos, I decided to get back out to the lakes a few more times before the snow starts falling and Im unable to access my usual spots for another 4-5 months! I made 3 observations at 3 different locations, on 3 different days, for about 3 hours each. This video contains a short clip from each observation, from the lowest of my 2 or 3 cameras. They were fairly boring observations where optical conditions didnt change much. Consistent observations like these arent great for musical time lapse videos, but they are good for comparing basic Earth model expectations. This video asks the viewer to determine which observation clip best matches the geometric expectations (ignoring refraction for now) of each Earth model, using only a rough eye level reference that Ive estimated. Its a simple exercise that may hopefully lead to some discussion about observations over water and what we can actually evidence with them. Ill provide more information and footage from each observation on request, until I get more time to make longer videos about each observation.$ $Speedboat Tracker Pro Another short, effortless video! Heres a small boat I tracked with a not quite level camera, disappearing into the inferior mirage with distance, being obstructed optically due to upward refraction. Or maybe it is going over the curve of the Earth. Or maybe some of each? Whatever it looks like to you! Camera height was a little more than a meter, if that helps anyone. I couldnt see the top of the boat in my viewfinder anymore at the end, even though it was still barely visible.$ $Real or Photo Effects? Some random photos (or video stills) from 2 observations looking at things within about 2 km distance. The effect created by refraction looks like a photoshop type filter or effect has been applied. Are they all real and unedited? How would you tell? Why would you care? I dont use photoshop but there are some effects in GIMP and Resolve Studio that look very similar to the effects Ive captured.. It really shows well when there is something in the immediate foreground that is not as affected by the distortion. The effect is a little different every time and depending how far and how close to the ground, but it is almost always as strong regardless of conditions. In other words, I could have taken similar captures from any of my observations (since I always get some close shots), but I chose 2 where I had a fair bit of footage of close targets.$ $Flat Earth: The Strongest Inferior Mirage - part 2 Ive spent hours logging inferior mirages and trying to demonstrate that the optical effects of upward refraction cause obstruction similar to earth curvature. When refraction is very strong it is easy to demonstrate that refraction is responsible for the obstruction of close targets where there shouldnt be any, but not responsible for all of the obstruction when there should be some according to the globe model. This one is a little heavy on the subtitles and shaky camera footage. I work with what I have!$ $Lake of Fire - Observation February 9th, 2021 We tend to associate strong inferior mirage with extremely hot temperatures. Of course its the temperature gradient that determines the strength of mirage and not the actual temperatures. A 15°C difference between air and water temperatures, combined with strong winds on the lake surface, made for some interesting mirage and a steamy appearing lake. Unfortunately, it was too cold to do any tests or time lapse, but it was nice to capture another extreme refraction day.$ $Diving Into The Curve: My Globe Evidence - Part 1 Since Ive been deliberately recording a lot of observations in support of concave Earth lately, I thought Id get out to the lake one more time, during the period of day when Im most likely to capture convex-ish appearances. That time generally being early morning until early to mid afternoon on a normal (but hot) nice calm day. Its been a ridiculously hot and dry spring here, so this day wasnt much warmer than the many days before. I recorded nearly 5 hours of boring but somewhat varied inferior mirage followed by a short transition to.. something else not that exciting. This was observation #11 at Shelter Bay Ferry for this year. Ive decided to do a series of very short videos highlighting my best evidence for obstruction caused by Earth curve. If you dont agree that this observation is strong evidence of obstruction behind a horizon caused by Earth curve, then please share an alternate explanation that does not involve perspective, angular resolution limit, or reflections off water. Also, do not claim upward refraction, because that can only form inferior mirages if the Earth is a globe. That said, Ill consider any constructive input on how to make this stronger globe evidence. Do you need to know how far the boat was? How high my camera was? How warm the air was? How warm the water was? How humid the air was? How far to the point on the left? How far to the shoreline behind that? Ill gladly provide my best estimates for anything I can, provided that you can tell me how that information will help make this obvious globe Earth evidence even stronger. Maybe even.. proof?$

How High Was I? (when I made this observation from 3 inches)