Photo Highlight: Air Force Jet Water Blast

A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor aircraft in a training exercise in the Gulf of Alaska on June 22, 2009. (Ronald Dejarnett/U.S. Navy photo)

The U.S. Air Force released a photo on Tuesday of a jet exhibiting a little seen phenomenon involving water which scientists say sometimes occurs with the breaking of the sound barrier.

The military says the plane in the photo is flying at supersonic speeds in the Gulf of Alaska. The F-22 Raptor jet is participating in a military training exercise known as Northern Edge 2009 on November 22, 2009, according to Air Force.

The plane was said to by flying over the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis.

According to LiveScience, the visual phenomenon is referred to by scientists as a "vapor cone, shock collar, or shock egg."

"A layer of water droplets gets trapped between two high-pressure surfaces of air," Editorial Director of Live Science Robert Roy Britt notes. "In humid conditions, condensation can gather in the trough between two crests of the sound waves produced by the jet. This effect does not necessarily coincide with the breaking of the sound barrier, although it can."

The photo was taken by Ronald Dejarnett of the U.S. Navy, whose rank is Petty Officer 1st Class.