Mike Alloway, age 8, of Omaha, Nebraska, for his question:

What makes the dry road ahead look wet and shiny?

Sometimes we see a wet puddle on the road ahead but when we get there, the road is as dry as a hone. Our eyes were fooled by a mirage. Now you see it, now you don't. As a rule, it happens in the summer on a warm sunny day. This is because a mirage needs a lot of sunbeams to fool our eyes. It also needs a layer of warm air and a layer of cooler air.

Sunbeams bring pictures to our eyes, though tae cannot she them do it. As a rule, they bring us nice true pictures of the scenery. But the air can make sunbeams dance around. It also plays all sorts of other tricks on them. Layers of warm and cooler air can turn them upside down. This is what happens when we see that wet shiny mirage on the road. The topsy turvy sunbeams show a picture of the sky    down there on the road. But they can fool us only from a distance. When we pet closer, the shiny picture goes back up in the sky where it belongs    and the tricky mirage disappears,