Monday, January 31, 2011

Student experiment films Earth from stratosphere


Two students have recorded video of the Earth from high in the atmosphere using homemade equipment, at a cost of just £350.
University of Sheffield PhD students Alex Baker and Chris Rose used a helium-filled balloon to send a foam box containing two small video cameras and a GPS tracker into the atmosphere.
Because of the very cold temperatures at high altitudes, they insulated the box with duct tape and included a small heat pad to keep the cameras warm.
The balloon is thought to have reached an altitude of 37km before popping, allowing a parachute inside to bring the equipment back to earth.
Launched in Derbyshire, the experiment was in flight for almost three hours before the box landed in a Cambridgeshire field more than 100 miles away.
Notable landmarks picked out by the camera included, the Great Wall of China, Mount Everest and Ireland's National Debt


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