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Missile launch over San Francisco
- danielvf 11y agoI'm guessing it's high enough that the exhaust is catching the sunlight. It's an amazing sight certainly. I'd love to find out what makes the blue portion of the trail. I note that it does not disperse as much.
- nostrademons 11y agoI think that's the sonic boom as the missile goes supersonic. Pressure wave changes the vapor point of water; water condenses in the shockwave left behind; moonlight reflects off the fog. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vapor_cone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vapor_cone Notice that the missile is a pinprick of light until it reaches a certain altitude & speed.
- scrumper 11y agoI believe the blue is the second stage igniting. Heavy nitrogen content in the Titan II's solid fuel, which lends it that color. There is a prima facie decent analysis and a different, good video over on Reddit: https://np.reddit.com/r/LosAngeles/comments/3s06dt/op_delivers_best_footage_of_ufo_missile_test/cwt4682?context=3 https://np.reddit.com/r/LosAngeles/comments/3s06dt/op_delive... Interestingly you can see 'flip turns' in the video, a maneuver the missile repeats 14 times to disperse its MIRV payload.