reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL
This is for BUMR055, and PROFFESIONAL....nice enhancement, PRO.
BUMR, your question was about how the contrails seem to be close together, but very different?
That is an illusion -- they are at different altitudes, and not directly aligned one atop the other. It's the angle of the POV.
I'll use telephone poles as an example, (although they are vertical, and don't drift with the prevailing airmass)....you certainly have real-world
experience of the change in alignment based on your POV? Only big problem with my telephone pole analogy is perspective....we KNOW they are all the
same height and width, so we can KNOW which one is closest, etc.
Your photo shows two contrails, one tight and compact, and being blown around by the wingtip vortices...and/or there was some turbulence there as
well. Likely it was near a shear area between airmasses at different velocities or directions. Based on the distinctiveness of the 'curly-cue'
trail, I'd wager it was laid-down at a lower altitude, slightly off-set towards the camera. The other one, more 'feathered', was likely about 5
minutes sooner, higher up, in nice smooth air.
If you could look at them live, and climb up in altitude from the original vantage point, it would become apparent whether or not I'm correct.
I've seen a lot of contrails from the air, from above, below, and side. I've crossed other contrails at right angles, and at all angles in
between.
I think after 30 years of observing, I am somewhat qualified to have an opinion....
WW