Something new under the sun

[corvi]

A dark straight line across the sky, which was a sky-thing I hadn't seen before. I think the dark line is the shadow of the contrail, projected onto the cloud below it like a shadow puppet by the sun. Have you seen something like this?

Comments

[beaq]

I have seen this thing. It is the shadow.

[twoeleven]

It's hard to tell from the picture, but it might also be a contrail and a distrail, made by planes at different altitudes.

[corvi]

Ooo, I did not know about distrails; thank you.

[twoeleven]

I knew the concept, but until you asked, not the word for it. :) They're related to hole-punch clouds. I've seen photos of those, and presumably made one myself¹, but haven't actually seen one myself.

1: Yes, in an airplane.

[beaq]

o yeah that.

I thought I could tell where the sun was, but this is true.

[randomdreams]

I have seen contrail shadows on other layers of clouds, but this looks more like twoeleven's explanation, to me.