Strange cloud at sunset @ 1000mm

[weka2000]

I was about to head home after a sunset with my 17-40. I saw a strange cloud on the horizon. Put bigma on and here is what I got.

If someone can explain what it is let me know

[weka2000]

I wanted to see more so I put my 2xTC on the bigma and shot of a couple. Manual focus of course.
The portrait one is @1000mm the landscape at 650mm.

[DiscoLizard]

Never seen a cloud like that. Very cool though. Looks like superman just flew through it or something :)

[scotttnz]

WOW....that is weird!

[scotttnz]

Seeing as you were near the airport, I would have to guess that it is some sort of vapour trail off a plane.

[FlyingPete]

Seeing as you were near the airport, I would have to guess that it is some sort of vapour trail off a plane.

Yep that be a con-trail, got one way off in the distance on GKPE, but didn't look that cool!

[weka2000]

Seeing as you were near the airport, I would have to guess that it is some sort of vapour trail off a plane.

That cant be right as those hill are the Waitaks. Note the mast on the top. Also wrong colour.

EDIT: You guys may be right. Logic tells me that the rest of the clouds are running horizontal so why this one is vertical. I never saw any aircraft take off that way during the whole time.

[FlyingPete]

That cant be right as those hill are the Waitaks. Note the mast on the top. Also wrong colour.

EDIT: You guys may be right. Logic tells me that the rest of the clouds are running horizontal so why this one is vertical. I never saw any aircraft take off that way during the whole time.

Could have been comming in from Aussie, it would then turn around over the CBD and over Howick Pakuranga if it was an Easterly approach, or it would come straight over the heads if it was a westerly approach.

[Wazza]

I like the first one the most! :)

[davidk]

Could be a test missile. I see the exact same thing here in Southern California maybe once a year. There are test missiles shot over us and then blown up by interception missiles.

[kennys350d]

i saw one of these when i was like 12, and i believe it was a test missle.

[Youngster]

That's hardly a cloud. Is there perhaps a factory behind there that we can't see in the picture?

The first photo is absolutely beautiful :)

[FlyingPete]

Could be a test missile. I see the exact same thing here in Southern California maybe once a year. There are test missiles shot over us and then blown up by interception missiles.

If this were anywhere but NZ that would be possible but our Air Force consists of a couple of Orion Radar Planes, a herc or two, a 767 or 777 and a couple of helicopters. The only time they use ammo let alone a missile (which I don't think we have any of) is when they are just about to pass their used by date. We have no fighters at all anymore.

We live in the perpetual fear that a teenager with a RC plane and a BB gun will gain air superiority of NZ :eek:

Unfortunately my fellow kiwis understand. It really messes with the quality of our airshows :o

[nicshow]

Is it possible that it could be a cold funnel cloud?

[Choderboy]

Could be a test missile. I see the exact same thing here in Southern California maybe once a year. There are test missiles shot over us and then blown up by interception missiles.

Not in NZ. For some reason, they seem to be able to exist quite happily without weapons!

Awesome cloud shots.

[OceanView]

It looks like somekind of a tornato on a small scale.
Maybe there was an isolated one in the area.

[jack lumber]

I see that in #2 the very bottom part appears dense ,hot and smoky.


It reminds me of a petro chemicialplant,"going to flare."
Are thre any gas wells, drilling rigs in that area?

[J T]

Wow, that's one hell of an odd cloud formation, definitely not like any contrail I've ever seen. Plus, it appears to be vertical and too low to the ground to be a contrail. I probably would have driven as close to it as possible.

[Harold_L]

Arn't mysteries fun (or frustating)? I vote against a con trail, mainly due to the spiral structure. I've seen con trails distorted in all sort of ways by winds, but a spiral contortion is a real stretch of the imagination. One thing that has not been mentioned is the smoke train from a large tumbling meteor. But that seems unlikely, because the meteor itself should have been visible. So I am as perplexed as everyone else.

[LavaBox]

looks exactly like the plume of a big industrial smokestack, tight at the bottom (heat source) looser as you go up. perhaps a large airmass moved into the area and pulled it away from a factory intact. Notice the leftward movement of the cloud in the first image in relationship to the radio tower and compared to the following images, notice the top is sheared off and has still more leftward movement. Also notice in the first image the cloud is tight. Looks like it is breaking up in the later images. I think you were there at the right time. Check some time and see if you can find a factory to your visual right from where you were standing, could have been a factory a few miles away... It would be easy to find, it has this really big plume coming out of it and it is probably on top of a hill ;-)

[J T]

Good observation, lavabox. I think that might be the most rational explanation at this point. :-)

[jack lumber]

Lavabox.
I agree it could be an industrial emmission,
Whatever they are those are some amazing images.
Having seen many gas wells,,oil rigs ,,pipelne,s and refinereies flare off product,I would be inclined to peg this as a gas flare. The vortex is created by turbulance as gas,s travel the pieline ,feeding the stack. The layers of smoke suggest "surges "which is very typcial as more plant systems dump into the flare line.
A flare off this big suggests an emergency shutdown.

[LavaBox]

Thinking further, instead of shear actually moving the emission plume, there could have been a difference in temperature in the visible layers of the atmosphere causing a refraction of light and making the plume appear where it was. As we know. Late in the evening the moon can appear huge near the horizon. Check uot these smokestacks and I think this is the best possible answer.
www.photovault.com/Link/Industry/IndustrySmokestacks.html

[LavaBox]

Awesome picture, pointing out the most key wisdom, if you don't live with your camera nearby, you may miss the shot!!

[davidk]

The cloud has a spiral to it. It actually looks like something went spiraling down to earth being the cloud is spread out at the top, and most recent down at the bottom.

Not in NZ. For some reason, they seem to be able to exist quite happily without weapons!

I wouldnt call a ballistic missle interception system a weapon :p

[yakbut]

Nice shots, ive never seen anything like it.

[Buggbairn]

Whatever the hell it is it's bloody cool :lol:

[weka2000]

Wow, that's one hell of an odd cloud formation, definitely not like any contrail I've ever seen. Plus, it appears to be vertical and too low to the ground to be a contrail. I probably would have driven as close to it as possible.

Ok based on where I was (by the Auckland International airport) that was well over the ocean out on the west coast. I dont have a map but thats about 15miles away as the crow flys.

Here is a photo taken 25min earlier and there are two 1 on the left and 1 on the right.

I cant be industrial as over that mountain range is the pacific ocean. Well what ever it was I get the nice feeling of not going home when I was going to and decided to change my lens and have a look.
Oppotunity missed is one you dont get a second shot at :)

[Anthony J Howe]

Never seen a cloud formation like it, makes this shot very interesting. I hope the cause of it remains a mystery, it's such a good shot.

[davidk]

Well we can rule out North Korea, because you are quite a distance from them....UNLESS they have a secret terrorist base in the South Pacific? :D

[Dimitri_V]

Probably a small local twister that caugth a cloud and span it around?
Good shot though.

[dharrison]

Wow, cool cloud and even better shot. I like how that little tower gives the picture good scale and balance.

[Titus213]

Very nice catch. I would suspect a wind vortex caused by a plane perhaps. Cool, whatever it is.