A ninety-three minute Nat Geo documentary which can be boiled down to two words:
Temperature inversion.
At the moment of sinking, the Titanic was crossing the division between the warm Atlantic Gulf Stream and the much colder Labrador current -- as much as 30 degrees colder. This current carried with it icebergs calved off from Greenland.
This much colder water also bore a layer of frigid air just above it. This extreme temperature difference between layers of air created a mirage effect similar to that seen in the desert, a documented mid-ocean phenomenon where the horizon is seemingly elevated several degrees. In the pitch black clear moonless night of April 15, 1912 this meant the iceberg in the Titanic's path was hidden from view until 37 seconds before they struck it, instead of the usual expected half hour.
It also meant that another freighter, just five miles to the north, was not able to recognize the Titanic she passed her and so did not see or ignored her SOS beacons broadcast by signaling light.
Nature caused the Titanic to overestimate the safety of the North Atlantic shipping channel.
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