Ship Tracks (IMAGE)

University of Connecticut

Ship Tracks

Caption

Ship tracks form when very small, airborne particles emitted in the exhaust of large ships (and airplanes) attract water molecules, acting as 'seeds' (or 'cloud condensation nuclei') for clouds. Continued accumulation of droplets on the cloud condensation nuclei forms the thin, streaky clouds pictured in this image. "This is why you often see a trailing track of clouds following ships," he says. "They call those ship tracks."

Credit

NASA Photo

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