Photos of Planes and Contrails (That you took yourself)

[Ross Marsden]

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IMG_2106 by Mr Thumpy, on Flickr

Notice the little shadow in the top right of that photo - amongst the alto-cumulus? or is it strato-cu?

Quite a busy cloudscape! Look at all the cloud types represented there!

 

[cloudspotter]

Alto cu. There was a lot going on up there that day. BBQ on the beach, temps in the high 20s and an amazing cloud display. Heaven

 

[Jay Reynolds]

Notice the little shadow in the top right of that photo - amongst the alto-cumulus? or is it strato-cu?

Quite a busy cloudscape! Look at all the cloud types represented there!

Good example of varying fields of atmospheric moisture. Might be handy when folks like Max Bliss try to claim that contrails should not vary from place-to-place in the sky. In a recent debate he made that sort of claim, finding it unlikely that 500 meters altitude difference might make a difference in contrail persistence/nonpersistence.

 

[Mick West]

On the way to Vegas today.

 

[justanairlinepilot]

Nice...too bad you weren't leaving a chem...AHHEM...contrail too.

 

[A380]

A pic, sent from a reader of the "Chemtrailhandbuch", a debunking book:

 

[Pete Tar]

A nice cloud layer today that developed a couple fall streak holes from plane wakes (I assume).
There is also a plane flying 'vertically' and a contrail forming.

What was interesting was how the sun shining through this hole highlighted an area that was it's exact opposite, which then formed into a defined cloud as the layer around it disappeared...
(turned to the opposite side of the sky)

I missed getting the plane as it was forming this nice curved contrail with a much more obvious negative lead-in area.

This one too had a negative area before the trail started, I thought it was a shadow but probably not.
Then it started to drip quite quickly.

Mare's tail.

(taken with phone camera and stops in between riding, so it's not as interesting as it was in real-life)

 

[A380]

A nice cloud layer today that developed a couple fall streak holes from plane wakes (I assume).

It's always interesting. Here is also such a fall streak hole at the beginning, virga ist to see:

Here is a downwash, if dry air is forced downwardly:

There is no virga.

 

[Atma Singh]

So all day a blue sky and then like about 10 planes come over criss cross and make this from where on the sun is blocked till the rest of the day, no change in temperature etc ...some trails stop and then continue ,some go in curves.... still contrails? I live in holland and these pictures where taken 2 days ago one after the other and i don't live close to an airport or millitairy base...

PLease debunk...cause i don't understand why the trails of these planes stay at that point and all the other planes prior to this didn't while all the weather conditions were exactly the same...

 

[Mick West]

The weather at 30,000 feet changes faster than the weather on the ground.

 

[FreiZeitGeist]

I live in holland and these pictures where taken 2 days ago one after the other and i don't live close to an airport or millitairy base...

You are living in a triangle between the major Airport-Hubs London, Paris and Frankfurt/Main. Most planes and most contrails you can see from the netherlands are flying over you to reach another destination.

Take a look at flightradar24.com/ to see how busy the airspace above the netherlands is...

 

[TEEJ]

I live in holland and these pictures where taken 2 days ago one after the other and i don't live close to an airport or millitairy base...

Go to

http://skyvector.com/

Type in EHAM and it will centre you on your region.

EHAM is the ICAO code for Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airports_by_ICAO_code:_E

Make sure it is set on 'World Hi'(Top right hand corner).

This will show the Upper Air Routes

Use it in conjunction with Flight Radar 24 and see how busy your region is.

 

[Atma Singh]

Well, if this is because of the weather change at high altitude then it still means that the weather has changed a lot overthe last years cause i used to be a fisherman when I was younger and I've never seen skies like this be4...s
o what do you think has changed in the climate since then?

 

[Jay Reynolds]

Well, if this is because of the weather change at high altitude then it still means that the weather has changed a lot overthe last years cause i used to be a fisherman when I was younger

What year did you first notice the contrails over the Netherlands? I'd really like to know.

 

[FreiZeitGeist]

Well, if this is because of the weather change at high altitude then it still means that the weather has changed a lot overthe last years cause i used to be a fisherman when I was younger and I've never seen skies like this be4...so what do you think has changed in the climate since then?

Please take a look to this thread - and I really mean the whole thread (actually 4 Pages)

https://www.metabunk.org/threads/pre-1995-persistent-contrail-archive.487/page-3

Where is the difference to your picures some days ago?

Especially this picture, taken from a scientific WW2-Paper about "Contrails made by Airplane-exhaust" in the year 1940

 

[Cairenn]

This may not be exactly the proper place, but since she is also adding cloud pictures I thought it would be worth posting here. These are taken from the space station.

https://www.facebook.com/AstronautKarenNyberg

osting here

 

[Ross Marsden]

Well, if this is because of the weather change at high altitude then it still means that the weather has changed a lot overthe last years cause i used to be a fisherman when I was younger and I've never seen skies like this be4...s
o what do you think has changed in the climate since then?

I have been a meteorologist most of my life. A significant part of that was actually observing the sky. Granted that was in a part of New Zealand where contrails are seldom seen. However, the first persistent contrail I recall being positively aware of was in about 2002 (before I know of this "chemtrail" controversy). I may well have seen them before that, but I don't recall it. Since I have become aware of "the chemtrails", I have seen lots in my local area (different from where I had observing duties), and remember seeing lots; I have also seen photos taken as early as 1980 of persistent contrails in New Zealand skies.
What should I conclude from this? I conclude that my distant memory is incomplete on this subject, and definitely that the recall facility is very faulty.

 

[FreiZeitGeist]

@Caireen

Yes, I really love the pictures from Karen Nyberg as I loved the pictures from former ISS-Astronauts, I follow them on Twitter (I don´t like Facebook).

The Astronauts on the ISS are making some really breathtaking Cloud-Pictures from Orbit above us

And I really love that Ms. Nyberg is keeping her long hair on ISS-Mission. There is no better way to proove that she is really in micro-gravity rigth now...

 

[JFDee]

These are taken from the space station.

And, almost as expected, a "Chemtrails!" cry in the comments ...

 

[Cairenn]

And here are some contrails over the Gulf of Cortez.

 

[Mick West]

And here are some contrails over the Gulf of Cortez.

They don't look like contrails, more like some kind of cumulus style roll clouds.

 

[A380]

They don't look like contrails, more like some kind of cumulus style roll clouds.

Or castellanus (cumulus or altocumulus)?

 

[Ross Marsden]

No, they aren't contrails. They are cumulus that have popped up to mark the presence of low-level convergence lines in the near surface flow. I see then fairly often around the coasts of New Zealand in light wind conditions.

 

[Cairenn]

Thank you for telling me that, after I posted, I started looking at them better (larger picture) and I came close to adding a ? after my contrails post.

Always learning something new.

 

[Soulfly]

Not sure if SOFIA has ever been seen leaving a contrail or used as evidence by anyone of chemtrails but I thought I would post it cause it is fucking awesome!

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/SOFIA/index.html#.Ug5zpZKTh8E
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratospheric_Observatory_for_Infrared_Astronomy

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is a joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to construct and maintain an airborne observatory. NASA awarded the contract for the development of the aircraft, operation of the observatory and management of the American part of the project to the Universities Space Research Association(USRA) in 1996. The DSI (Deutsches SOFIA Institut) manages the German parts of the project which are primarily science and telescope related. SOFIA's telescope saw first light on May 26, 2010. SOFIA is the successor to the Kuiper Airborne Observatory.

 

[Mick West]

SOFIA would quite likely be flying around in big circuits, and hence has the potential to leave a very suspicious looking contrail. Recently it's been in New Zealand:
http://www.sofia.usra.edu/News/news_2013/07_18_13/index.html

July 18, 2013

NASA's SOFIA airborne observatory will be based in New Zealand for the next two weeks, taking advantage of the Southern Hemisphere's orientation to study celestial objects that are difficult or impossible to see in the northern sky.

SOFIA, formally known as the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, deployed to the United States Antarctic Program's facilities at Christchurch International Airport last week and completed its first science flight at 4 a.m. local time July 18 (noon EDT July 17). A team of scientists, engineers, pilots and technicians from the United States and Germany are deployed with SOFIA to support as many as nine research flights through Aug. 1.

 

[Soulfly]

SOFIA would quite likely be flying around in big circuits, and hence has the potential to leave a very suspicious looking contrail. Recently it's been in New Zealand:
http://www.sofia.usra.edu/News/news_2013/07_18_13/index.html

July 18, 2013

NASA's SOFIA airborne observatory will be based in New Zealand for the next two weeks, taking advantage of the Southern Hemisphere's orientation to study celestial objects that are difficult or impossible to see in the northern sky.

SOFIA, formally known as the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, deployed to the United States Antarctic Program's facilities at Christchurch International Airport last week and completed its first science flight at 4 a.m. local time July 18 (noon EDT July 17). A team of scientists, engineers, pilots and technicians from the United States and Germany are deployed with SOFIA to support as many as nine research flights through Aug. 1.

I've been following the flights from their Facebook posts.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/SOFI...-Astronomy/187095228001013?hc_location=stream

 

[Ross Marsden]

Above the tropopause, the air is very dry. Ephemeral contrails may occur, but it would be just about impossible for persistent contrails if the plane is genuinely in the stratosphere.

 

[captfitch]

That SOFIA is both awesome and ugly at the same time. No 747 should look like that.

 

[Brainiachick]

Colour Party or Chemtrail over Buckingham Palace and the Royal Family?

 

[AnonymousATCO]

I've been following the flights from their Facebook posts.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/SOFI...-Astronomy/187095228001013?hc_location=stream

Had the pleasure of looking after SOFIA on several occasions last month. It didn't tend to operate in big circuits. Rather it would disappear off into Oceanic airspace and fly great circle tracks between 38-40,000 feet. It operated well south of NZ down to about 65 or 70 degrees south, out to the north and west as well. It was observing a certain cloud at the centre of the galaxy. The typical mission length was 10-12 hours and they often returned with minimal fuel!

 

[JFDee]

I'm not usually prone to bragging, but can't resist on this occasion:
http://contrailscience.com/racetrack-contrails/#comment-57804

 

[Mick West]

There's some fascinating clouds in the Souther Hemisphere in winter:

South of NZ

Same days as:
http://earthdata.nasa.gov/labs/worl...sedac_bound&time=2013-07-29&switch=geographic

What looks like inverted fallstreaks - cumulus clouds rising up to create holes in an altostratus layer?

 

[Mick West]

Actually I think the first one is sea ice.
http://earthdata.nasa.gov/labs/worl...sedac_bound&time=2013-07-29&switch=geographic

I think I see a phoenix in the bottom one.

 

[JRBids]

I have been a meteorologist most of my life. A significant part of that was actually observing the sky. Granted that was in a part of New Zealand where contrails are seldom seen. However, the first persistent contrail I recall being positively aware of was in about 2002 (before I know of this "chemtrail" controversy). I may well have seen them before that, but I don't recall it. Since I have become aware of "the chemtrails", I have seen lots in my local area (different from where I had observing duties), and remember seeing lots; I have also seen photos taken as early as 1980 of persistent contrails in New Zealand skies.
What should I conclude from this? I conclude that my distant memory is incomplete on this subject, and definitely that the recall facility is very faulty.

Absolutely! I've noticed all kinds of clouds since I've seen people post "HAARP" photos that I know I've seen before, but not know the names or looked in detail. When you think about it, I don't even remember what clouds looked like when I was a kid. The only memory that sticks in my mind is when we went to Colorado and I saw my first towering thunderheads. We don't get anything like that on Long Island.

 

[Soulfly]

Posted on.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?....74645557916.75645.14391502916&type=1&theater

Yes I know it is not a contrail.

 

[Mumbles]

Yeah, I think it's pretty common. I remember an aircraft I walked up to where I could push the slats in pretty easily. Thought it was an a-4.

Sounds like it could be. It was/is part of the pre-flight walkaround to check the slats were moving freely on their runners, as asymmetric deployment in-flight could make handling 'interesting'. I had a go at the slat check once in an "I've always wanted to do this" moment with one of the last active RNZAF A-4's.

 

[Mumbles]

There are 2 types of aerodynamic activation - on the A-4 and others the slats are deployed by spring pressure, and gradually retract as air pressure from forward speed overcomes that and pushes them in.

The A-4 slats are purely aerodynamic devices . They deploy solely on aerodynamic or G-loading, no springs or other mechanical involvement. They can be locked up if required, the Blue Angels A-4's being probably the most prominent example, but that isn't common.

 

[Mumbles]

Forgive the quality, but I'm not sure how many pics there are out there of contrails from inside the aircraft generating them. I took this in my early teens from a BA 747 (you can see the port horizontal stabiliser at top left) high over the arctic on the way from London to Los Angeles in January 1990. I noticed the trails had just about caught up with the wing so took a pic
It is a bit indistinct, but the trail from the inboard engine runs across the bottom third of the pic, with the dark area being the gap between it and the outboard trail. This was one of the first times I'd ever done this kind of travel, and already being aware of contrails it was pretty cool to see them being formed right in front of me. It also gave a nice sensation of speed usually absent at that altitude.

 

[Mumbles]

Final batch from my archives.

Swiss F/A-18 Hornet etc

Just wanted to say as an amateur airshow photographer and lover of fast jets, these are cool shots. Thanks for posting!

I was lucky enough to catch a Raptor in Australia earlier this year - it's a heck of a machine.