On Thu, Jun 25, 2015 at 09:10:42AM -0700, xxxxxx@shadowgard.com wrote:
> It was a daytime pic. And the RVs are easily visible as these ruler
> straight bright whit lines (plasma sheath). They look like a special
> effect from a movie!

In a way they were special effects: long exposure images.

You wouldn't actually see those straight lines of uniform brightness
from re-entry projectiles.  You'd see descending points or balls of
light like meteors (depending on size and distance), possibly with
short tails behind them.  They would also get quite a lot brighter as
they descended, which typically doesn't show up in long exposure
images due to saturation.

From first visibility to reaching the ground would take on the order
of 10-15 seconds for merely orbital projectiles, somewhat less for
faster missiles fired from further out.  A 20-gee missile fired from
high orbit could traverse the atmosphere in less than a second,
assuming it could survive the extreme heat and forces to reach the
surface.

- Tim