Following on the heels of the University of Delaware’s blimp, UD researchers in Sweden (!) have launched a giant balloon that is now flying at the edge of space to collect data on cosmic 
rays.
“…say what?”
University of Delaware researchers in Sweden have launched a giant balloon taller than a football field that is now flying at the edge of space to collect data on cosmic rays — the most super-charged particles in the universe.
“great googly moogly.”
The UD Alumni Relations Blog’s pea-sized brain can’t quite handle all this so we’ll just do what we do best – plagiarize from smarter people who write better. This time, it’s our sister publication, UDaily. Take it away, team:
The balloon, which is 396 feet tall and 459 feet in diameter when fully inflated, was set aloft at 4:34 a.m. on May 17 from Esrange Space Center near Kiruna, Sweden, in the Arctic Circle. It is flying at a speed of more than 40 knots and an altitude of nearly 27 miles. Its payload of cosmic ray detectors, housed in a pressurized shell, will be cut free in northwestern Canada and float back down to Earth on a parachute, and then secured and recovered, likely by helicopter.
Cosmic rays are extraterrestrial high-energy electrons, protons, and heavier nuclei that enter our atmosphere.
“The bulk of cosmic rays are likely produced by strong shock waves from Supernova explosions within our galaxy,” said John Clem, research associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Delaware’s Bartol Research Institute. “It is well documented that these high-energy particles can threaten the health of astronauts in space and expose airline workers to radiation,” Clem noted.
With support from a $961,710 grant from NASA, Clem is leading a research team from UD and NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine, Texas, to learn more about cosmic rays.
Clem says about a thousand cosmic rays strike every square meter of Earth’s atmosphere each second, depending somewhat on the location. The data from the balloon flights will be used to study solar modulation, the variation in cosmic ray intensity that is correlated with solar activity.
If that isn’t awesome enough, you, loyal reader, can follow the balloon’s flight path online.
Now our only question is how many of these balloons would we have to tie around our waist before we floated away? And if we could get enough of these balloons tied around our waist, could we attach a giant fan to our back in order to control our flight path? Dear NASA, we’ll need a few milli in grant money for this one.
Giant balloon flying high over Atlantic to catch cosmic rays [udel.edu/udaily]
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: | balloon, blimp, impressive, research, sweden
