Unexpected trail

I spotted this ‘trail’ from my kitchen. I wondered what it was and thought it might be a meteor trail. The clouds were moving right to left, so a cloud doesn’t seem to fit. Do you have an idea of what it might be? Colin Maguire, via email An interesting observation, Colin. Meteor trails would generally point more towards the ground, however. This is more likely to be a short vapour trail left by an aircraft passing through the condensation point at that patch in the atmosphere. It could still spread in the opposite direction to lower layers of cloud, as wind direction changes with height in the atmosphere. – Ed.