*shrug* The contortions of the smoke trails at Vandeland are due to high altitude winds.
I recall watching one during the boost phase and it formed a perfect cone once it left the atmosphere, so much so that for a moment I thought it was the diverging beam of a spotlight.
No idea what it would have looked like from something close to directly behind.
I read somewhere that this is a timed exposure, dunno if that is accurate, but if it is the longer exposure should have blurred the spiral into a featureless disc.
As for The Comedian’s excellent point about the pinwheel not being distorted by the down range motion of the missile?
Good point. The only way I can save my beautiful theory from ugly facts is to insist that all the spinning happened over a very short time...
Showed a video, took about 10-15 seconds for the spiral to form.
Yet another beautiful theory ruined by ugly facts.
*grumble* *grumble* *grumble* *grumble*
Just this moment Glenn Beck showed the video. It doesn't look so well-formed in the video. That's why I think the still image has been doctored, very expertly perhaps but it's so perfect that it just doesn't seem "natural" even for a rocket launch.