![Two U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School T-38 aircraft flying in formation at supersonic speed.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/f4_p4_red_planedrop.jpg)
Airborne Background Oriented Schlieren Imaging (AirBOS)
Using the schlieren photography technique, NASA was able to capture the first air-to-air images of the interaction of shockwaves from two supersonic aircraft flying in formation during the fourth phase of the Air-to-Air Background Oriented Schlieren flights, or AirBOS flight series. These two U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School T-38 aircraft are flying in formation, approximately 30 feet apart, at supersonic speeds, or faster than the speed of sound, producing shockwaves that are typically heard on the ground as a sonic boom. The images, originally monochromatic and shown here as colorized composite images, were captured during a supersonic flight series flown, in part, to better understand how shocks interact with aircraft plumes, as well as with each other.
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