Is this a picture of a soldier shooting lasers against the night sky? How did they make the beams bend? They twist and turn like bolts from a Tesla coil! Sadly, no. It's just a fantastic picture of a Marine launching a PL-87 Stinger Missile at a flying drone in a training exercise. It's so gorgeous.
Would have been more gorgeous with lasers but whatever! (what isn't better with lasers, right?) The picture is a little like what we've seen with light painting, the flames from the missile fill up the night with colorful streaks. Captured by Lance Cpl. Cory D. Polom, the Marines said:
Flames light up the sky as a Marine launches a PL-87 Stinger Missile at a flying drone over Onslow Beach on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., April 16, 2013. The Marines were training for the night fire portion of the 2nd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion’s live stinger fire exercise.
[Marine Corps Flickr]
A Soldier Launching a Stinger Missile That Looks Like Lasers