This amazing video makes it look as though this massive oil tanker is floating in the air. The video, which has now gone viral online, is an optical illusion that was created by the fact that low-lying cloud makes it almost impossible to see where the sea ends and the sky begins.
The sight caught the eye of Colin McCallum as he was driving through the town on Banff, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He was so taken aback by what he saw that he whipped out his camera and began recording. At first, even he was unaware of what was actually causing the ship to 'float'.
The health & safety worker then uploaded the video he had taken onto Facebook, where it soon captured the public's imagination. He wrote alongside the video:
"Saw a real life optical illusion today."
Speaking to reporters, Colin said:
"When I first saw the boat, I had to do a double-take because I genuinely thought it was floating. Upon further inspection, however, I noticed that it was in fact just a remarkable optical illusion. It was caused by a cloud formation closer to the shore which changed the colour of the water closer to the land. The boat, being further away, was in a cloudless area and therefore the sky reflected the sea - making it look like the boat was floating."
The cause of the illusion is fairly simple. The huge oil tanker has its hull submerged in water. However, as low-lying clouds reached the water between the ship and the observers on the shore it masks the real horizon. In effect, this creates the illusion of a fake horizon between the ship and the observers. Certainly, at first glance, it can be easy to see just why Colin and so many others were left bemused.
The area off the north-east of Scotland, known as the North Sea, has a huge number of cargo ships and oil tankers passing through it daily given that it is home to one of the largest oil-fields in Europe. The industry employs tens-of-thousands of people and generated billions of pounds in tax-revenue every year.
[h/t: Daily Mail]
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