Comet C/2023 A3 and Airplane Fly-by

Ok, here's a bit of interesting, high-altitude aviation trivia. Posting along with Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS).

I was out Thursday night shooting the comet and noticing quite a few aircraft in the sky, especially this one, which looked like it had charted a parallel course to pass by the comet.

Wingtip lights on all aircraft are red on the left, green on the right, and they also contain flashing strobes. (note that the view is of the plane from underneath!)

I recorded this picture with a 4-second exposure, so you see the lights flashing over that period of time (about once per second). This represents about ½ mile of travel for the aircraft.

From the angle of the lights reference the contrail, you will notice that the direction of the plane's course appears aimed slightly to the left. Since we are seeing the plane from underneath, this means that they are "crabbing" slightly to their right. Which also means they have a crosswind component from their right. It could be tailwind, since they're headed basically east, but no guarantee of that.

Anyway, if you're still awake, zoom into the picture and note the artistry of this geometry.