10 optical illusions created by nature itself

Did you know that nature can easily deceive the human brain?

There are a lot of optical illusions on our planet, which, thanks to the peculiarities of our brain's perception and rich imagination, are perceived by us as an illustration for a fantastic film.

Let's figure out what it is?

An optical illusion, also called a visual illusion, is a perception of an image that differs from objective reality. There are three types of different optical illusions:

1. Optical illusions that create an image perception that differs from the real object;

2. Physiological illusions, which are the effects on the eyes and brain of excessive stimulation of various types. For example, light brightness, color, perspective, tilt, and movement.

3. Cognitive illusions resulting from inferences.We have tried to collect for you the most unique examples of optical deception created by nature itself. Let's start with the familiar optical illusion of the Aurora Borealis. The Aurora Borealis, the Northern lights, or as it is called in professional literature Aurora Australis - is an amazing in its beauty glow in the sky, similar to watercolors. The phenomenon occurs in the upper atmosphere, which has a magnetosphere, due to interaction with charged particles of the solar wind.The Aurora Borealis is observed mainly in the high latitudes of both hemispheres. So, on the island of New Zealand, the glow occurs regularly, the local population even called it "Flaming skies". Of course, to see this natural phenomenon, it is not necessary to go to Norway, Iceland and Finland. On the territory of the Russian Federation, the Aurora Borealis is present in the Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions, the Komi Republic, Karelia, the Khibiny mountains, the Taimyr Peninsula, Yakutia and Yamal.

Another equally exciting illusion is the Halo.A halo is a group of atmospheric optical phenomena characterized by the appearance of a secondary glow around a light source, usually in the form of a circle, ring, arc, light column, or "diamond dust". In addition to the halo, the phenomenon can cause the illusion of three suns in the sky. What you see is amazing.On the seashore, you can see another irresistible optical phenomenon in its beauty and brightness - the "Green ray". The last ray of the sun setting over the horizon, decomposing into a spectrum, forms a" fan " of colored rays, sorting through all the shades of the spectrum, completing the light representation with a beam of bright emerald color. Surprisingly, some illusions can frighten us, such as the "Brocken Ghost" illusion. This illusion is a shadow on the surface of clouds or fog. The Ghost may seem very large, it may move and move because of the movement of the cloud layer. The head of a Ghost is often surrounded by a colored halo, when water drops of the same size in the clouds refract and scatter the sunlight.The "Brocken Ghost" became famous due to the eponymous peak "Brocken" in the Harz mountains in Germany, where constant fogs and the availability of low altitudes allow you to observe it especially often.

Another sinister illusion is named after the sorceress-a character in English legends, the Fairy Morgana. Fata Morgana is a rare complex optical phenomenon in the atmosphere, consisting of several forms of mirages, in which distant objects are seen repeatedly and with various distortions. According to one theory, the appearance of the legend of the flying Dutchman, the Ghost ship is due to the Fata Morgana.

The fire waterfall is an illusion that can be found at certain times of the year. It's just water, but every year around the second week of February, the setting sun falls at a special angle, illuminating the water in bright orange and red, creating a complete impression of an eruption of fiery lava.Underwater waterfall in Mauritius. This illusion is created by sand deposits along the coast. If you look at the coast from a bird's eye view, you get the impression that there is a huge crevice in the glacier under the water, into which water flows, forming an underwater waterfall.Red river in Spain, Rio Tinto. Due to the fact that the river's water is rich in metals, an ordinary photograph of the river deceives the human eye, making it think that it sees fiery streams.Frozen waves of Arizona. This unique landscape can be seen on the border of the States of Arizona and Utah in the United States. Frozen waves of rock were formed by wind and rain over millions of years. The unique picture was formed due to uneven weathering of the mountains. Due to the fragility of the rocks, visiting the attraction is limited to only 20 people per day.Magnetic hill is a gravity hill located Northwest of the city of Moncton in the canadian province of new Brunswick. A mysterious hill is a place where the landscape creates an unusual optical illusion, and a slight slope down seems to be a steep slope. So, a parked car will seem to be rushing down against gravity, as if it is attracted by a strong magnet. Local authorities treat this optical illusion with humor, even installing a large magnet pointer near the slope.

Author: Natalya Stalyukova