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source (https://answersingenesis.org/astronomy/earth/flat-earth-proof-just-a-mirage/)
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My Own Experiment
Since temperature inversions are common over water, it is relatively easy to devise experiments in which distant objects beyond the curvature of the earth are visible. Perhaps the most famous are the photographs of the Chicago skyline taken across Lake Michigan, about 60 miles away. The photographer, Joshua Nowicki, does not promote the flat earth, but flat-earthers have used his photographs many times, such as here (http://investigate-nasa.com/2015/11/12/earth-curve-calculator/), as supposed proof that the earth is flat. Flat-earthers do not seem to be aware of just how rare these photographs are. If the earth were flat, then the Chicago skyline would be visible across Lake Michigan nearly every clear day, but it is not. If the earth is spherical, then the hulls of ships ought to disappear as the ships move away from the observer. Since the ship must move many miles away for this to become noticeable, it is difficult to see this with the naked eye.
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As with the Chicago skyline, there are many images on the internet, usually videos, of ships some distance away in which their hulls are visible. Many of these are taken during warm weather, such as late spring and summer, when the water is likely to be much cooler than the air, producing a temperature inversion. However, what would happen if one were to repeat this experiment over water that is warmer than the air temperature? Since there is no temperature inversion, the hulls of ships ought to disappear. This condition is likely to prevail on cool days in late autumn and early winter, when water temperatures are higher than air temperatures. These conditions also can produce inferior mirages, though not nearly as pronounced as over land on sunny summer days.
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On November 12, 2016, I had the opportunity to conduct this experiment. I was near the water’s edge, just beyond the surf, at Virginia Beach from middle to late afternoon. When I began, the air temperature was 50 degrees F, and the temperature dropped a degree or two by the time that I was done, near sunset. The water temperature was 62–64 degrees F, so the air immediately above the water was at least ten degrees warmer than the air temperature a short distance above the water. I photographed two cargo ships as they made their way out to sea from the port at Hampton Roads. I mounted a digital SLR camera on a 3.5-inch Questar telescope, having a 1,200-mm focal length. The ISO setting on the camera was 100 for all photographs.
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The first photograph (Figure 4) is of a cargo ship bearing the name of the company on its hull. The company is the NYK line, a major Japanese shipping company. Notice that the bottoms of the letters are not visible. The letters on the hulls of cargo ships do not extend to the water line, even when fully loaded, so clearly the bottom of the hull is not visible. This is consistent with what we would expect on a spherical earth, but not on a flat earth. Notice the white bridge castle to the left. The shipping containers are multicolored, and they are stacked at least seven high above the hull directly in front of the bridge castle. Below the visible tiers of the multi-colored containers there is a level of what appears to be gray containers. It is not clear why the containers in this layer are the same color. Finally, notice that the image is a bit blurry. This is because of turbulence in the air between the ship and shore. With increasing distance, the turbulence will get worse, and the images will get blurrier.
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(https://assets.answersingenesis.org/img/articles/2017/01/another-flat-earth-prediction/figure-04.jpg)
Figure 4
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In the next photograph and succeeding photographs, the ship is farther away, as indicated by the decreasing apparent size of the ship. In Figure 5, an inferior mirage is starting to show up. At the edge of the water, you can see a gray line, which is an inferior mirage of the row of gray containers right above the hull. On the right side of the ship, you can see the inferior mirage of the bow. The hull protrudes forward there, and the small white patch just above is a small portion of the forecastle. Notice that the inferior mirage of the bow is inverted, as one would expect. It is difficult to see here, but the lettering on the hull also is undergoing an inferior mirage too.
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(https://assets.answersingenesis.org/img/articles/2017/01/another-flat-earth-prediction/figure-05.jpg)
Figure 5
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In the next photograph (Figure 6), the lettering on the hull is no longer visible. The layer of gray containers is even more visible in the inferior mirage, and the first layer of multi-colored containers is now beginning to appear in the inferior mirage. In the next photograph (Figure 7), the light from the gray layer of containers and its inferior mirage are beginning to merge. The first layer of the multi-colored containers above it is clearly visible in the inferior mirage. The white of the bridge castle is starting to show up in the inferior mirage. In Figure 8, the layer of gray containers no longer is visible. The bottom of the bridge castle and its inferior mirage have merged. None of the hull is visible. In the next photograph (Figure 9), the ship has turned, so we see the back of the bridge castle and containers on the stern. Much of the bottom of what appears to be the ship is an inferior mirage of the upper containers. At any rate, the hull is clearly not visible. Finally, in Figure 10 none of the containers are visible. All that we can see is the back of the bridge castle, merged with the upside-down inferior mirage. Notice the symmetry between the two.
(https://assets.answersingenesis.org/img/articles/2017/01/another-flat-earth-prediction/figure-06.jpg)
Figure 6
(https://assets.answersingenesis.org/img/articles/2017/01/another-flat-earth-prediction/figure-07.jpg)
Figure 7
(https://assets.answersingenesis.org/img/articles/2017/01/another-flat-earth-prediction/figure-08.jpg)
Figure 8
(https://assets.answersingenesis.org/img/articles/2017/01/another-flat-earth-prediction/figure-09.jpg)
Figure 9
(https://assets.answersingenesis.org/img/articles/2017/01/another-flat-earth-prediction/figure-10.jpg)
Figure 10
Conclusion
(Second ship's photos will be added later)
These photographs clearly reveal that the hulls of these (two) ships progressively disappeared as the ships moved farther away. This is consistent with what we would expect if the earth is spherical, but this cannot be explained if the earth is flat. Therefore, this is good evidence that the earth is spherical. The results presented here contradict the many photos on the internet of objects beyond the horizon that supposedly prove that the earth is flat. Those alleged proofs are flawed because they failed to take account of atmospheric refraction due to a temperature inversion. By conducting this experiment when there was no possibility of a temperature inversion, I avoided that complication. The fact that inferior mirages consistently showed up in the photographs prove that there was no temperature inversion, indicating instead that there was a slightly warmer layer of air in contact with the water, with slightly cooler air above.
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The second ship
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Another container ship made its way outward, as shown in Figure 11, a photograph taken through the supports of the pier at Virginia Beach. You can clearly read the name of the shipping company, Maersk Line, on the turquoise hull. What appears to be stains under the letters are the beginnings of an inferior mirage of the letters. Instead of a level of gray containers immediately above the hull, the layer of containers right above the hull on this ship appear a deep red. As with the other ship, in each succeeding photograph this ship is farther away, as evidenced by the decreasing apparent sizes of the containers and the ship.
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(https://assets.answersingenesis.org/img/articles/2017/01/another-flat-earth-prediction/figure-11.jpg)
Figure 11
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In Figure 12, the ship now appears beyond the pier. Notice that the inferior mirage of the lettering on the hull is much more obvious now. In Figure 13, the lettering and its inferior mirage have [now] merged. In Figure 14, the lettering is difficult to see. This probably is because most of the lettering is below the horizon, and what appears to be the bottom of the hull is an inferior mirage of the top of the hull. This is clearly seen by the inferior mirage of the first layer of red containers below the turquoise. In Figure 15, the inferior mirage of the bottom layer of containers is more obvious, and the inferior mirage of the bottom of the bridge castle is beginning to show up. Clearly, at least half of the turquoise visible here is an inferior mirage. Most of the hull is below the curvature of the earth. Unfortunately, at this point the sun was about to set, so light levels were dropping quickly, forcing me to use longer exposures. At that point, I stopped taking photographs.
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(https://assets.answersingenesis.org/img/articles/2017/01/another-flat-earth-prediction/figure-12.jpg)
Figure 12
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(https://assets.answersingenesis.org/img/articles/2017/01/another-flat-earth-prediction/figure-13.jpg)
Figure 13
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(https://assets.answersingenesis.org/img/articles/2017/01/another-flat-earth-prediction/figure-14.jpg)
Figure 14
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(https://assets.answersingenesis.org/img/articles/2017/01/another-flat-earth-prediction/figure-15.jpg)
Figure 15
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Conclusion
(First ship's photos are in the OP)
These photographs clearly reveal that the hulls of these two ships progressively disappeared as the ships moved farther away. This is consistent with what we would expect if the earth is spherical, but this cannot be explained if the earth is flat. Therefore, this is good evidence that the earth is spherical. The results presented here contradict the many photos on the Internet of objects beyond the horizon that supposedly prove that the earth is flat. Those alleged proofs are flawed because they failed to take account of atmospheric refraction due to a temperature inversion. By conducting this experiment when there was no possibility of a temperature inversion, I avoided that complication. The fact that inferior mirages consistently showed up in the photographs prove that there was no temperature inversion, indicating instead that there was a slightly warmer layer of air in contact with the water, with slightly cooler air above.