Members of the Earth to Sky Calculus science club have recovered the space weather balloon they launched on Oct. 27th. The payload, which landed in a remote area of California's Inyo Mountains, carried two high-energy radiation sensors into the stratosphere. These pictures show the erupting balloon and one of the sensors at the apex of the flight, 27 km (90,500 feet) above Earth's surface:
The reading on the LCD screen shows a dose rate of 3.7 uSv/hour, more than 20 times higher than radiation levels at the launch site. Another independent sensor was contained inside a thermally insulated capsule. Working together, the two sensors measured a complete profile of ionizing radiation from 2.8 km to 27 km above Earth's surface.
This experiment was prompted by a recent NASA report concerning the effects of space weather on aviation. Like astronauts, ordinary air travelers can be exposed to significant doses of radiation when the sun is active. The Oct. 27th flight showed that it is possible to count x-rays, gamma-rays, alpha particles and beta particles using relatively inexpensive equipment. Such data can be used to check and improve research models of radiation percolating through Earth's atmosphere.
Another balloon flight could be in the offing. Solar activity is high, and a new fusillade of X-flares could trigger a radiation storm around Earth. If so, the student scientists plan to send their sensors back to the stratosphere for another look. www.spaceweather.com
This experiment was prompted by a recent NASA report concerning the effects of space weather on aviation. Like astronauts, ordinary air travelers can be exposed to significant doses of radiation when the sun is active. The Oct. 27th flight showed that it is possible to count x-rays, gamma-rays, alpha particles and beta particles using relatively inexpensive equipment. Such data can be used to check and improve research models of radiation percolating through Earth's atmosphere.
Another balloon flight could be in the offing. Solar activity is high, and a new fusillade of X-flares could trigger a radiation storm around Earth. If so, the student scientists plan to send their sensors back to the stratosphere for another look. www.spaceweather.com
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