While we usually think of them as being streeks of white, occasionally they appear in different colors.
It’s just not usually visible to the human eye.
India-based photographerSoumyadeep Mukherjeemanaged to capture this sight in a series of stunning photos.
Mukherjee went out with the intention of snapping pictures of the ISS transit of the sun.
However, due to some unexpected clouds blocking the sun, he was forced to abandon that plan.
That was when he photographed something even more amazing.
The colors in plane contrails are due to individual water droplets diffracting sunlight.
Each image is actually a composite of seven individual images captured over a period of 40 seconds.
As a result, each photo depicts the changes in the iridescent colors and shape of the plane contrail.
I quickly zoomed my lens at 600mm and was very surprised to see some colors on the contrail.
Mukherjee elaborates that his location in Kolkata, India, makes it very rare to see contrail iridescence.
The colors were faint and not visible to naked eyes, he says.
Had I not zoomed in with my camera, I would have missed it completely.
India-based photographer Soumyadeep Mukherjee captured rainbow contrails from planesa spectacular and rare optical phenomenon.
Each shot is a collage of seven images taken over a period of 40 seconds.
Photo: (left) sundog phenomenon; (right) iridescent plane contrail
Related Articles:
