Mea Cook’s Geos 215 course, Climate Changes, successfully launched a weather balloon on September 25. A small instrument was attached to a three-foot diameter helium balloon and launched from from the roof of Morley Science Center. The instrument measured temperature, atmospheric pressure and relative humidity, relaying the data to receivers on the ground via AM radio signal. Community members from the Norther Berkshire Amateur Radio Club generously donated their time, equipment and expertise to receive and record the data. The launch followed up a thorough test run two weeks earlier.
Thursday’s launch rose to nearly 30,000 feet in elevation before the balloon burst. The device continued to emit a signal as it fell. Radio contact was lost when at approximately 8000 ft.
