What are airplane contrails?
The white trails that aircraft sometimes leave in their wake are produced as a consequence of the high temperature of the gas jets that come out of the engines (often at temperatures above 500º C) in contrast to the low temperatures – of the order of minus 56ºC – which prevail at the heights at which commercial flights normally take place, which causes condensation and subsequent freezing of the water vapor they contain. These condensation trails – popularly known as “contrails”, a word derived from the English “condensation trails” – can turn into clouds, depending on the prevailing humidity, temperature and wind conditions at all times.
