Up, Up, and Away to the Leonids
Updated: June 18th, 2018
"This was an excellent flight," commented Dr. John Horack, an astronomer at NASA/Marshall, "everything worked great, and we got some excellent video - more than we could have ever seen from the ground, given the weather. It's not very often that the entire planet gets to be 'scientists' and participate in a global science experiment. And, it's very beautiful to look at."
The balloon lifted off at 2:28 am CST from the Atmospheric Research Facility on the campus of NASA/Marshall. Climbing at nearly 1,000 feet per minute, the camera offered a birds-eye view: first of the fog-enshrouded Huntsville area, and then the night sky.
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In addition to the camera, two small plastic trays, each with 30 tiny wells filled with Aerogel, were fixed to the outside of the balloon package, in hopes of possibly capturing a tiny piece of micrometeorite dust. "The chances are small, probably less than 10% that we'll find something interesting," noted Dr. David Noever, regarding the probability of catching a piece of comet dust. "But the payoff would be extraordinary." The balloon payload is currently being retrieved from north-central Georgia, where it was tracked by telemetry from its on-board GPS receivers. Viewing of the Leonids continues tonight in North America, after the Earth has passed through the most populated portion of the cometary debris cloud. Check out LeonidsLive.com for the latest information on the historic Leonid Meteor Storm of 1998. |
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Author: Tony Phillips
Production Editor: Dr. Tony Phillips
Curator: Bryan Walls
Responsible NASA official: John M. Horack
