If you were a fan of Top Gun the movie, than you will appreciate this awesome photo! I have heard the sonic boom a few times, but never saw a photo when a supersonic jet breaks the sound barrier.
This widely circulated new photo shows an Air Force F-22 Raptor aircraft participating in an exercise in the Gulf of Alaska June 22, 2009 as it executes a supersonic flyby over the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis.
The visual phenomenon, which sometimes but not always accompanies the breaking of the sound barrier, has also been seen with nuclear blasts and just after space shuttles launches, too. A vapor cone was photographed as the Apollo 11 moon-landing mission rocketed skyward in 1969.
Source: Live Science – Commentary by Frank J.
This is an awesome pic indeed……. Great one!