Contrails

When you have as good a sky view as we do, you begin to realize how many of the "clouds" you see in the sky are actually remnants of contrails. In the winter, especially, it seems that the conditions are right for contrails. From our kitchen table window, we have a spectacular view to the east, and it is not uncommon to see a dozen planes in the air going up and down the East Coast flight corridor.

A few nights ago, the conditions were apparently perfect for contrails.

This east-west contrail was dispersing in an interesting "drop" pattern.

A bit later, the southwest-northeast contrails were particularly notable for how many planes were on almost exactly the same flight path.

From left: (1) The first flight leaves a nice, straight contrail. (2) The first contrail has begun to disperse as a second plane follows the same path. (3) A third plane follows the path, but is no longer leaving a strong contrail. (4) And a fourth plane follows the same path.

What doesn't show up in the wide-angle pictures above is Venus shining through the high clouds. This is a telephoto shot of the third plane. Venus is the bright dot in the lower cloud.