Starship Asterisk*

I am a glider pilot and have observed an unexpected 'pheomena" of apparent refraction of light. I have queried many people including scientists but still have no satisfactory explanation. Perhaps someone out there can help.
Observation:
When flying a glider on a sunny day and late in the afternoon, I often look at the ground where I expect to see a shadow of the glider.
I do NOT see a shadow, but a bright concentration of light where I would expect to see a shadow.
It appears that the glider is acting as a long focus lens with a positive refractive index to produce this surprising observation.
I have heard of astronomers using the term "micro lensing" which refers to the refraction of light around a celestial object to determine presence or distance of astronomical objects, is this what is happening here?
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THE ANSWER LIES IN DR LEWINS THREAD. IT IS A SIMILAR PHENOMENON
TO THE ONE BEING DISCUSSED THERE, IN DEPTH.

jcoll wrote: It appears that the glider is acting as a long focus lens with a positive refractive index to produce this surprising observation.
I have heard of astronomers using the term "micro lensing" which refers to the refraction of light around a celestial object to determine presence or distance of astronomical objects, is this what is happening here?
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No microlensing (one word) is caused by massive objects like stars. In these cases the gravitational potential well deflects the path of the light. A glider does not have sufficient mass to cause this at anywhere near a perceptable level.

BMAONE stop shouting.
Can't you find the caps lock key?

Mary Celest is right. microlensing does not work for small objects.

you didn't say where you glide? is it over a desert or what?