Mirages are natural optical phenomena resulting from the refraction of light rays through layers of air of varying temperature and density, leading to the appearance of illusory or distorted images of distant objects. They commonly occur in desert areas and on roads during hot weather. Burjis Al-Falih, a member of the Afaq Society for Astronomical Sciences, explained to SPA that mirages are caused by the bending of light rays as they pass through layers of air of differing temperature and density, resulting in illusory or distorted images of distant objects, noting that this phenomenon is one of the most prominent visual phenomena associated with hot weather. He indicated that mirage images may appear stationary or shimmering, upright or inverted, and objects may appear in positions different from their true locations due to light bending, with this difference reaching up to about 10 degrees above the horizon. He added that mirages are divided into two main types: inferior mirages, which are the most common and appear above very hot surfaces such as roads and deserts, making them appear to the observer as bodies of water, and superior mirages, which form above cold surfaces such as seas and snowfields, due to the temperature differences in the air layers. Al-Falih pointed out that the effect of mirages is not limited to terrestrial objects but can extend to celestial bodies, as the sun, moon, or some planets, stars, and comets may appear distorted or multiple, with the phenomena of sunrise mirage and sunset mirage being prominent examples. He noted that mirages have had a presence in human history, associated with certain exploratory voyages and legends, and have served as a source of inspiration for writers and philosophers, becoming in literature and culture a symbol of false hope or goals that appear close but remain out of reach.