What Am I Seeing?

[jadyn]

The very bright early morning sunshine was streaming through my bedroom window this morning. I have an oil filled radiator near the wall which was switched on and the sunshine cast a shadow of the radiator on the white painted wall.
Above the shadow, there appeared to be streams of moving shadows on the wall rising upwards but I don't understand exactly what I was seeing rising on the wall. I know that it was the reflection of the "heat" rising from the top of the radiator but why is it that I can see it as moving shadows?. After all, I can't see the heat rising if I look at the top of the radiator directly. Why can I only see them in very bright sunshine like this morning?
Thank you.

[THECORBYLOON]

https://wtamu.edu/~cbaird/sq/mobile/2014/02/12/can-air-make-shadows/

[Canary42]

It's a similar effect to that which causes mirages on open roads in a hot spell (and in the desert).

[THECORBYLOON]

When I was in junior school, the teacher was telling us about mirages and explained it by saying it made us think we were looking at a pond so we saw the reflection.

I asked, "What if someone had never seen a pond, what would they see?" She just ignored me and moved on.

[Mamyalynne]

Children ask the best questions Corby.