And no, the gubmint isn't spraying chemicals.

Contrail

The conditions were perfect last night for glorious contrails in the waning sunlight at Salem, Massachusetts.

Contrail

Twisted aircraft contrails in the evening sky.

An A340 leaves a trail over the Atlantic.

Lyme Park, Disley, Cheshire

Jet aircraft flying at high altitudes often produce a rail of condensed vapor called a contrail. The mixing of hot exhaust gases from the engines with cold outside air causes ice crystals to form on particles in the exhaust. A contrail evaporates rapidly when the relative humidity of the surrounding air is low. If the humidity is high, a contrail may stay visible as cirrus-like clouds for many hours.

Click here to view this and other photos in our digital image library.

Airplane Contrails album shows airplane contrails, or chemtrails spreading out and create awesome patterns in the sky.

a strictly contrail sky, which seems to be more and more frequent

Contrail from passenger jet overflying the Norfolk coast.

Lens; Tamron AF70-300mm F/4-5.6

@ 1/400s / f6.3 / 300mm

Handheld.

BVB (Best Viewed Big) so you can see my dog on the top. or, lookit the notes.

At large size, one can see Venus at the center of the picture

location: Ferndale, Michigan, USA

Aircraft heading in an easterly direction.

A distant contrail floats over a grey steel fence at the Lismore Showground. 2013

Contrail

The unstable atmosphere made for poor telescopic viewing of the moon and planets last night. However, the same unstable atmosphere did create for some interesting modifications of contrails at first morning light.

Contrail

A contrail interlude. Cirrus aviaticus: see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrail

Contrail from today's Delta IV launch from Vandenberg AFB as seen from Koreatown in LA.

Passing airliner. Cromer, Norfolk. 25 Dec 2010

Circumhorizontal arc in a sheared out contrail. Thanks to A.J. Pye for the info!

I have seen these a few times before in regular old cirrus clouds, but this was extra cool because it would have never existed if the contrail hadn't been there.

(Finepix s6500 digital camera)

L1160615

Airplane contrails spreading out in the sky, massive CO2 pollution high up in the atmosphere.