The Anomalist points towards this article where it is suggested that the black lines that often accompany so-called Chemtrails are NOT shadows like suggested and that this explanation can be dismissed. This is a great demonstration of Confirmation Bias because the explanation for these dark lines being caused by shadows of the contrails caused by air traffic is logically sound – demonstrably so. The sad fact is that people will see a conspiracy where they want to see one and quite often any suggestion that their logic isn’t sound is met with the idea that your logic isn’t sound and that you just don’t get it. It is particularly saddening when the promotion of these conspiracies makes some people rich from selling anti-chemtrail protection diets, supplements and jewellery.
In fact, my first introduction to the Chemtrail conspiracies was at a conference when someone tried to sell me a book about how certain berries will block out the Chemtrail radiation. The biased evidence they presented for their case sort of made sense until I sat down and really thought about it and noticed that what they were presenting as evidence was selective and cherry picked information that didn’t really make sense.
If you watch the video below of the launch of Space Shuttle STS-117 you’ll notice a dark line appears in the sky to the right the launch path at around the 1 minute and 11 seconds mark as the Shuttle reaches a certain position in the sky at which is casts the shadow.
It’s difficult to work out how the sun will cast a shadow of a flying craft when you consider the volume and dimensions of what you’re observing and how you, the observer on the floor is looking at an object in the sky at an difficult to judge distance casting a shadow from a light source that is even further away that is also at an angle in the sky that is often near impossible to judge.
I have often stood and watched aircraft pass overhead while trying to judge where the shadow will fall once it gets to a certain position, only to get it wrong on most occasions. I also liken such a shadow being cast by contrails as viewed from beneath (on the ground) to viewing the shadows of clouds cast upon the ground when seen from up above. They don’t sit directly under the clouds position in the sky because of a) the position of the sun and b) the position of the observer. When you think about it, what we see from a plane window is exactly what we see from beneath when you swap the clouds below for a contrail above. The same factors come into play and suddenly the mystery starts to dissolve.