NSTG8R
Elio Addict
First off, I've been working on or around aircraft since I was 18 (53 now), and have seen every conceivable kind of contrail. No strange science to it. Hot engine exhaust at a given altitude condensing/freezing leaving a trail behind the aircraft, pronouncement depending on the moisture content of the air at that particular altitude.
Four friends and I witnessed yesterday, around 5pm CST over the St. Louis area while sitting on my patio, the opposite of a contrail. The weather was beautiful. Relatively clear with some high cirrus clouds. My buddy Faz says, "Man...That's weird!". So I stand up and turn around to see what he's looking at. I'm looking at what can only be described as a "reverse contrail". It's as if something went through the cloud and sucked up the moisture in a perfectly straight west to east line. That was strange enough. Minutes later, and this "reverse contrail" was showing no signs of degrading, an aircraft (I'll have to look at the pics we took to see if the type is discernible) leaving your typical contrail is flying straight down the path of the reverse contrail like it was going down a highway.
I'll post the actual pics from my wife's phone and our camera when I get home tonight, but until then, these are as close to what we saw as I can get...which apparently means this isn't the first time something like this has happened. Any ideas on what could cause this? I'm at a loss.
With the aircraft running down the center of the dead straight 'void' in the cloud layer leaving a contrail looking more or less like this.
Four friends and I witnessed yesterday, around 5pm CST over the St. Louis area while sitting on my patio, the opposite of a contrail. The weather was beautiful. Relatively clear with some high cirrus clouds. My buddy Faz says, "Man...That's weird!". So I stand up and turn around to see what he's looking at. I'm looking at what can only be described as a "reverse contrail". It's as if something went through the cloud and sucked up the moisture in a perfectly straight west to east line. That was strange enough. Minutes later, and this "reverse contrail" was showing no signs of degrading, an aircraft (I'll have to look at the pics we took to see if the type is discernible) leaving your typical contrail is flying straight down the path of the reverse contrail like it was going down a highway.
I'll post the actual pics from my wife's phone and our camera when I get home tonight, but until then, these are as close to what we saw as I can get...which apparently means this isn't the first time something like this has happened. Any ideas on what could cause this? I'm at a loss.
With the aircraft running down the center of the dead straight 'void' in the cloud layer leaving a contrail looking more or less like this.
