Time Lapse Videos of the Sky (that you took yourself)

Mick West

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This thread is for sharing your own time-lapse videos of the sky. Please don't post it unless it's a video you took yourself, or your have permission to share it.

If possible, please give the time and place, and identify any aircraft.

I'd like to build a collection that illustrates some of the more misunderstood factors in contrail formation and persistence - particularly how trails are laid down parallel, how gaps can form after the trail forms, and how the atmosphere is layered, with each layer doing things independently.

This was taken in Shingle Springs, Northern California. Feb 2nd 2015, and illustrates the clouds moving in two different directions in different layers.
 
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this is a time lapse I made nov 29 last year. It is funny to see two almost opposite wind directions. The lower clouds move one way. Contrails and high cirrus clouds move the other way:
 
this is a time lapse I made nov 29 last year. It is funny to see two almost opposite wind directions. The lower clouds move one way. Contrails and high cirrus clouds move the other way:


That's great, nearly opposite directions.
 
This one is from 5 days ago. Some contrails are persistent, but you can also see a higher one dissipating rather quickly. I don't know how to find out which aircrafts that were. The location is 50°58'N 5°52'E. Date feb 7 2015. Time start 13.18 end 15.40 CET
 
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This one is from 5 days ago. Some contrails are persistent, but you can also see a higher one dissipating rather quickly. I don't know how to find out which aircrafts that were. The location is 50°58'N 5°52'E. Date feb 7 2015. Time start 13.18 end 15.40 CET

Was your camera pointed SSW?
 
Yesterday between 15.32 and 16.40 CET looking south. At the very beginning you can see two broken contrails (that were hanging there for a while already). At 1:43 there is an aircraft crossing very high (I believe flighttracker24 gave about 30.000 ft) but it is leaving just a tiny contrail, barely visible.
 
Got a little Fisheye attachment for the old iPhone I've been using for these:


Just cirrus clouds today. Not a contrail or a cumulus to be seen. Interesting how little development there is in the cirrus clouds compared to the cumulus clouds. Cirrus just slide across the sky. Cumulus explode upwards and across
 
First attempt. Almost straight up view (looking S/E) from Christchurch Harbour (Dorset) ~1pm
Last few seconds shows Ryanair's 737 (FR78363) contrail (ascending through 35,000ft).

 
That looks mighty suspicious at about 6 seconds.

It's a conspiracy I tells ya! :p If they're not "redecorating" my car, they totally ruined my first time-lapse attempt (which was perfect cloud and contrail conditions) as they worked out that by flying into frame it upset the auto-focus which alters the field of view, making the completed video totally unwatchable.

What interval are people using?
On my cheapo JVC digicam (as video above) I used 1sec.
 


Finally got around to playing with a Christmas present. Within half an hour the weather went from contrailly, to completely over cast, back to contrailly, then to a glorious deep blue. By the time I figured out the GoPro and the App, I only caught the tail end of the last cloudy period.

The first half is shot at 1 sec, the second half at 2sec. The Phone App let's you change the interval on the fly.
 
Short HD time lapse shot from flight deck which shows development of thunderstorms north of Darwin and approaching Timor. The last CB is pretty special.

 
Short HD time lapse shot from flight deck which shows development of thunderstorms north of Darwin and approaching Timor. The last CB is pretty special.


Awesome!

I felt like an angel!

(well, even more so than usual!!)
 
Second attempt as the sky was looking more condusive to persistant contrail formation (at least over the English Channel)

Again, from North Christchurch, Dorset, looking SSW (appx 210degrees) appx 10:45am-12:15pm. (set at 2sec interval)

Interestingly while packing away camera a neighbour exclaimed "look at that" and pointed to a pair of contrails that had formed a cross. I didn't realise why he found it remarkable until he asked "why is that one (the vertical trail) going up?" :rolleyes:

 
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Yesterday looking east between 7 and 9.30. AM Lots of contrails and cirrus clouds and 13 aircrafts crossing. Still trying to identify them.
 
It's a pleasure to watch a 4K resolution time lapse on a 28 inch display. There is a bonus too - two 're-appearing' contrails (first appearances at 0:45 and 3:30).
I am not quite sure, but I believe the one on 3:30 was SIA26, an A380-841 from FRA to JFK. It was still climbing and apparently entering an atmospheric layer with the right temp en humidity. (I did try to keep track of the passing aircrafts on flightradar24, but my camera clock didn't give the right time.)
 
I believe the one on 3:30 was SIA26, an A380-841 from FRA to JFK.

I agree. It the above is correct, a curvy trail at 3:10 belonged to DLH940, which did make a course correction, and the hybrid contrail at belonged to ALK505, which was a four-engine A340.
 
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Viewed from Mudeford Quay (Christchurch Dorset UK) from appx 10:15am - 10:47am looking ENE (60degrees). Wide angle lens with 86degree field of view

I'm not 100% sure I've ID'd the correct aircraft tbh but these seem the most likely to me. Happy to be shown wrong.

10:20 Contrail from TCX1214 Airbus 321 ascending through FL230
10:40 Contrail from TCX4018 Airbus 321 ascending through FL290
10:41 Contrail from U28717 Airbus 319 ascending through FL290
 
Two days ago. Location 50°58'N 5°51'E looking south from 16:20:34 to 18:51:30

You can see an eastward drift of the lower (cumulus) clouds, a southeastward drift of the higher (altocumulus) clouds
Some contrails appear, higher than the altocumulus clouds, but non-persistent in the line of view. From the right (west) persitent contrails come drifting in view and appear to dissolve in a drier air layer.
I am not familiar enough with flightradar 24 to identify the aircrafts two days ago. Can anybody tell me how I could do that?

Added: Thanks to Trailspotter I was able to identify the following contrails: at 0.06 DLH2PP; 0.28 EZY97JD; 0.43 BAW953L; 1.42 RYR99ZU; 4.12 UAE3 and UAE19 all at about 36.000 ft
 
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I am not familiar enough with flightradar 24 to identify the aircrafts two days ago. Can anybody tell me how I could do that?
To play back FR24 for the past week, click the clock icon in the upper right corner to select the time and date:
Screen shot 2015-04-01 at 19.43.55.png
 
Here's a short one I took today. Taken from about 7 miles north of Manchester UK between 13:00 and 15:50, facing pretty much due west. I haven't identified any of the aircraft sorry.
 
Both taken around midday (1st began ~12:10, other ~12:20) from same spot - 1st one looking almost due South, the other more SSE. (Ignore timestamp, the clock reset itself). Didn't ID aircraft as FR24 app played up refusing to determine my location. But with a bit of diligence can probably get them if required.

 
Just a nice cloud buildup to rain here in Shingle Springs yesterday. Couple of contrails above the clouds at the start on the left.
 
A contrail shadow changing shape. Most of the action happens at the start, but there's a nice curving contrail at the end.

 
I just wanted to post this video.

13 August 2016, 18.30 BST
A dark stripe passing over
53°21'07.7"N 6°18'47.5"W
20160819-093751-aw9id.jpg
(see attached file below for timelapse)
 

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  • skyline.mp4
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I shot this footage of contrails and lenticular clouds at Embudo, NM a few years ago, c. 2012-2013. I have the original files all in archive somewhere. The second half of the video is infrared black and white.



Infrared has me thinking... is there a thread around on spectroscopic analysis of contrails?

Also I have some contrails at night which are interesting. This was also taken in Embudo, NM in late 2012:



This was taken more recently in Milo, Maine.

 
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