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Sunrise aberations
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Sunrise aberations

A stack of sun-stuff pancakes pushes up through the mist. Each pancake or slice is a separate miraged sun image. Some slices have the sun rising, in others the image is inverted and the sun is sinking. Each slice marks a temperature inversion layer where the 'normal' lapse rate of air slowly cooling with increasing height is replaced by warmer air above cooler. Overnight radiation cooling of the surface is likely responsible. The inversion layers can be quite narrow and close to ground level.

This is a mock-mirage type of sunrise. Strong mock-mirages can give multiple but very transient green flashes at and above the topmost pancake.

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  • Skies at sunrise on Mokelumne River in the Sacramento Delta
  • Tree at sunrise Mokelumne River in the Sacramento Delta
  • Sunrise on the Mokelumne River in the Sacramento Delta
  • Fog and tree on Mokelumne River.
  • Tree at Sunrise on the Mokelumne River in the Sacramento Delta
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  • Sunrise and the lower Mokelumne River.
  • Sunrise and tree on the lower Mokelumne River.
  • Sunrise aberations
  • Sunrise and Tree
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  • Sky at sunrise
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  • Sunrise
  • Clouds, Sunrise and River
  • Sunrise over the lower Mokelumne River
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