Abstract
Air traffic is increasing throughout the world and under certain atmospheric conditions high-flying aircraft leave a condensation trail that may persist for a long time. These contrails form an artificial cloud cover that hinders astronomy, spoils views in remote locations, and reflects light pollution down wards. In this paper we show examples of contrails, predictions of air traffic growth, and estimate the magnitude of the effect contrails have on astronomical skies. At present no systematic contrail records are kept. References to the physics of and information about contrail formation are also given.
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References
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Details about Figure 3 from:
http://www.vrida.no/climate/ipcc/aviation
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© 2003 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Pedersen, H., Schwarz, H.E. (2003). Aircraft Contrail Pollution. In: Schwarz, H.E. (eds) Light Pollution: The Global View. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 284. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0125-9_22
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0125-9_22
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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