German photographer Nick Beyersdorf has captured one of the most mesmerizing pictures you will ever come across. In what can be termed as a masterpiece, he caught an A380 Qatar Airways plane being chased by a rainbow contrail. It is also to be noted that homosexuality is illegal in the country.
However, what comes as a brilliant coincidence is that the ongoing month of June is celebrated all over the world as the LGBT Pride month. And the rainbow stripes spotted following the airplane is also the symbol for the LGBTQ pride. Speaking about the iconic shot, Beyersdorf said,
“I was in the garden with my mother and I got my camera with me because I saw a Qatar Airways plane appearing over the neighbor’s house.”
According to the Beyersdorf, the contrail, which is made of crystalised or frozen water vapor, and is a byproduct of jet engine combustion, got the colors of a rainbow due to the angle of the sun.
A Qatar Airways plane brightening up the skies with a spectacular #rainbow trail from its wings, as it flew over Bamberg, Germany. pic.twitter.com/IYUhqHnMPa
— إنِسّاٰنٌٍ (@armanahmed24) June 5, 2019
“It wasn’t starting like normal contrails from the engines but from the wings. So I took quite a few pictures. Due to the angle of the sun, the contrail started to get rainbow colors.”
As described by Contrail Science, the rainbow contrail is actually known as an aerodynamic contrail. The website describes its occurrence as,
“It’s formed by the reduction of pressure in the air as it moves over the wing. When the pressure of a gas falls, then its temperature also falls (the same principle as is used by your refrigerator). The reduced temperature cause small drops of water to condense, which then may freeze. The (frozen) drops get larger as more water condenses on them. The different sized drops (or ice crystals) have different optical properties, which affect different wavelengths of light, which accounts for the “rainbow” effect.”
In case you are not aware, the LGBTQ Pride is symbolized by the rainbow stripes which was designed in 1998 by Michael Page. The thought behind the design was to increase bisexual visibility in society and educate the heterosexual community about it. It also expresses a homosexual’s demand for respect and equality.