Sunset With Twin Contrails

December 05, 2006

Sunsettwincontrails copy

Provided by: Christine Churchill
Summary authors & editors: Christine Churchill, Jim Foster

The photo above showing dual condensation trails (contrails) was taken from northern California on July 2, 2006. Contrails are indicative of moisture availability in the upper troposphere. On this summer's evening, the atmosphere at the level of both aircraft (approximately 30,000 ft or 9,144 m) was near saturation. Note how they're pushed and prodded by upper atmospheric winds. Though more fraternal than identical, these twin contrails mark the end of the day with a pair of splendid, albeit quite crooked, exclamation points.

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