Iridescent Sky by Robert Koch
This very cool shot was captured in Southern California, not far from Vandenburg Air Force Base. A Minotaur rocket had launched just about an hour before the photo was taken, leaving behind a very photogenic plume of smoke. The contrail shows amazing rainbow-colored flashes picked up from the setting sun, even though it was captured at night. This usually happens when clouds are high in the upper atmosphere; they reflect sunlight while the lower clouds appear dark, resulting in a lustrous iridescent sky.
Hi informer. So, you also know about that site. They have awesome photos of clouds. It says where the photo was taken,type of cloud, optical effects... I learned a lot about clouds, optical effects and phenomenas from them.
I got so carried away I downloaded about 60.
This is technically a chemical trail, but it is created from the byproduct of missile exhaust mixing with high atmospheric conditions (including sub-freezing temperatures) which cause the beautiful refractions you see. I grew up in "the OC" and one could see these remnants from launches at Vandenberg AFB all the time (~170 miles/270 KM away).
