Fly Me To The Moon

Traffic was a bit heavy Wednesday morning. My mind was wandering a bit as we chugged along...when all of sudden thoughts of an old movie popped into my head. It was a movie I wish I had never seen. Not because it was dumb or silly, but because it was one of the most disturbing movies I've ever seen. In an attempt pull myself back to "the now" and to get the depressing thoughts out of my head, I searched desperately for something of beauty to focus my attention on.

The traffic came to a complete halt. I gazed to the right...the snowy field was pretty. I gazed to the left and there it was! How awesome!

Three airplanes high in the sky.....one headed left, one headed right and one looked just like a rocket ship headed to the moon. Each plane was leaving a fresh, crisp contrail behind it. It was so perfect that it almost looked choreographed....like something you would see at an air show.

I sat and stared, hoping the traffic would remain stopped. Longer and longer the thin white contrails got as the planes soared toward their destinations.

According to Wikipedia, condensation trails (contrails for short) are simply artificial clouds, visible trails of condensed water vapour, made by the exhaust of aircraft engines. As the hot exhaust gases cool in the surrounding air, they may precipitate a cloud of microscopic water droplets. If the air is cold enough, this trail will comprise tiny ice crystals....vapour trails.

For me Wednesday morning it was simply beautiful.