Jet trail paints sky above Dunedin

An Aerolineas Argentinas Airbus A340 leaves an 11.5km-high trail of condensation as it flies at 1020kmh over Dunedin.

The jet was on an 11,780km journey from Buenos Aires to Sydney yesterday afternoon.

The vapour streams were caused by hot jet exhausts reacting with cold air, Airways New Zealand spokeswoman Angela Lamont said yesterday.

"They can be very beautiful.''