Contrails

I went for a walk before twilight yesterday morning. It was mild and clear,
with wind from the south at about 10 and 24 degrees Fahrenheit. There was
about a 2/3 moon high in the sky, and Orion and Pleiades had set.

I saw an airliner at cruise and thought I could see the landing light. Then
I realized the light was behind instead of ahead of the aircraft. I thought
that maybe at that altitude the sun was catching the contrail, although the
rest of the sky was still dark. Finally, I realized that the moon was
illuminating the contrail from above. Then I saw another airliner at cruise
on an opposite course. It was really cool to see the contrails at night,
illuminated by the moon. After I reversed course on my walk, I saw an
airliner and its contrail change course over the Gopher VOR, and another
airliner on a diverging course.

When I see aircraft from the ground, I often think the aircraft, pilot, crew
and passengers are a force for life, pressing on against adversity toward
their destination. KD