Jet Trails

I stopped at Costco on my way home from getting the oil changed. The sky was blue there, and a couple planes had left jet trails in an elongated 'X', with another jet trail in the making. And I got to thinking about jet trails and the time I was flying somewhere, in a window seat, and there was a fresh jet trail right outside the window.

For a long time on that flight, I got to watch the dynamics of jet trail behavior as it broke apart and faded--and yes, it has a behavior that's different from clouds.

It had an elasticity that surprised me. From a solid-looking stripe, it pulled together at regular intervals into twists or balls, and as these shapes formed, the part of the trail that connected them grew thinner and more stretched-out, until it snapped apart and the broken ends became part of the shape they had been attached to. I watched as the shapes separated and pulled apart one by one, and slowly dissipated into blue sky. And I don't understand how tiny droplets of water can possibly act like elastic or chewing gum, when there's nothing to hold the drops together or give them shape. It baffles me. It fascinates me.

I've only seen jet trails up close the one time.

But today's jet trail display didn't last long. By the time I got out of Costco, the jet trails were gone. Some clouds had moved in and did a fair job of filling the sky. At home, I grabbed my camera and got a picture of clouds (above), not jet trails. I may have to start watching the sky more closely again, to marvel from a distance at the seemingly impossible.