Last month, when the sun unleashed the most intense radiation storm since 2003, peppering satellites with charged particles and igniting strong auroras around both poles, a group of high school students in Bishop, California, knew just what to do. They launched a rubber chicken. The students inflated a helium balloon and used it to send the fowl, named "Camilla," to an altitude of 120,000 ft where she was exposed to high-energy solar protons at point blank range. Read more
Students' Balloon to Observe Draconid Meteor Shower
Students from a remote area in Central California close to the Nevada border may get a rare to opportunity to catch a glimpse of the Draconid meteor shower Saturday. A helium balloon experiment by a group of high school and middle school students at Bishop Union High School will be the key to this sighting. Read more