Sunlit Aircraft Contrail Explains Red Streak Over Tampere
A bright red streak seen over Tampere on Sunday evening was a sunlit aircraft contrail, not a meteor, Ursa says.
On Sunday evening residents in Sorila and Janka photographed a sudden bright red streak across the Tampere sky and sent the images and video to Aamulehti.
Jarmo Moilanen of Ursa's fireball working group examined the photos and offered a simple explanation. Not a meteor. It was an aircraft contrail, and the plane cannot be seen in the pictures. Contrails form when water vapor in engine exhaust condenses under the right atmospheric conditions. A low, setting sun can tint the trail red. Such short-lived streaks occur from time to time and are sometimes mistaken for fireballs by observers.
Catch the full story over at Aamulehti
