Conard High School and Smith STEM School released weather balloons from the grounds of Smith in West Hartford on Thursday, June 4.
By Ronni Newton
Photos from the weather balloon courtesy of Anthony Truss, Conard High School
Two weather balloons were launched from the grounds of Smith STEM School on Thursday morning, and both eventually reached a height where the atmospheric pressure caused the helium inside to burst, sending the balloons parachuting back to earth.
West Hartford teacher Anthony Truss, the faculty advisor to Conard’s ACE (Astronomy, Computer, Engineering) Club, shared the photos taken by GoPro cameras that were attached to the balloon.
According to Truss, after the balloon burst it spent an hour parachuting back to earth and was eventually retrieved in Coventry. The parachute, which was tied to the balloon, straightened out as the air gained in density, Truss said.
Truss said the balloon reached an altitude of 120,000 feet – 22.7 miles above the earth – just as planned. “This is our third year so we are really starting to get it,” Truss said.
Although Truss said that he didn’t anticipate the students learning anything that had not already been discovered, that in no way minimized the value of this project.
“It’s so cool to discover this first hand,” he said.
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Image from Conard weather balloon.
Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod. Image from Conard weather balloon.
‘Waving goodbye!’ Image from Conard weather balloon.
Hartford. Image from Conard weather balloon.
University of Saint Joseph. Image from Conard weather balloon.
Image from Conard weather balloon.
Connecticut River. Image from Conard weather balloon.
Image from Conard weather balloon.
Image from Conard weather balloon.
Image from Conard weather balloon.
Image from Conard weather balloon.
Image from Conard weather balloon.
Image from Conard weather balloon.
Pieces of burst balloon. Image from Conard weather balloon.
Image from Conard weather balloon.
This is a real neat project.
Around 16 years ago, I put 4 big plastic/foil helium balloons together and put an Olympus Stylus (35mm film) camera under it, and set it off by putting the remote trigger (infrared) through a binocular lens and I suspended the camera from the balloons and had it tied on a tether line.
I was able to get some good photos of groups of houses, and Webster Hill School. Unfortunately, I had to downsize to a smaller car that couldn’t carry the four balloons. I went up to about 200 feet up. It was only useful on still mornings, even a 7mph wind made it droop from the line too much. – John Cudworth, formerly from Somerset St, and Hampton Court, Newington. age 55.