Students launch weather balloon to capture eclipse on camera
DRUMS, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— Everyone will be keeping their eyes on the skies with the solar eclipse, but if you happen to miss it, local students have you covered.
28/22 News Reporter Sydney Kostus caught up with a technology class in Luzerne County that’s been planning to capture the monumental moment through a camera lens.
The students have been working hard for more than a month to do their annual weather balloon launch that captures beautiful videos and pictures of the Earth near orbit, but this year, their goal is the solar eclipse.
28/22 News spoke with the students about how much planning and work went into the project.
It was an all-hands-on-deck scene at the Hazleton Area Academy of Sciences Building Monday morning.
“This year it’s supposed to go 120,000 feet. We take pictures and videos of the earth during the solar eclipse, this year especially,” said David Shrader, a senior at Hazleton Area Academy of Sciences.
The project has been taking place each year since 2017, its goal is to capture the curvature of the Earth.
“It started with one camera, and it was a fairly entry-level model camera, and then we were fortunate to get some donations, and we added gopros, and then we added a DSLR camera to take still photography,” explained John Berta, a teacher at Hazleton Area Academy of Sciences.
That container is strapped with three cameras and two GPS trackers, its goal is to be launched up into the sky near orbit, get snapshots of the solar eclipse, and then burst and land West of Parsippany, New Jersey.
“We have to weigh everything out, we have to make sure it’s all balanced, make sure the balloon has enough helium in it, all the knots are tied enough, everything has to go perfectly along with the weather. It can’t be too windy,” Mason Wolfe, a senior at Hazleton Area Academy of Sciences, told 28/22 News.
Bringing in non-technology students like Ella Aquilina, who is also a Boy Scout, to make sure they have the perfect “Figure-8 follow through” knot.
“With this knot, it’s extremely sturdy no matter which way you pull it, it’s not going to get tighter or looser, it’s going to stay the same, which is really important because of the weather it has to withstand,” explained Aquilina, a junior at Hazleton Area Academy of Sciences.
With lots of variables playing out ahead of launch, the hard work of a successful project keeps the group going.
“To have this happen hopefully to get pictures of the sun and the moon while it’s close to space, is really exciting,” added Mikayla Fay, a senior at Hazleton Area Academy of Sciences.
The school did have an early dismissal, but many students will be coming back to Drums to watch the launch at 1:30 p.m.
Teacher John Berta says the weather is perfect, but just in case it gets off track: If you find the container it has a number to call on it and what the project is.
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