Students launch weather balloon

NUMBER FIVE - Eighth grade students in Nate LaFond’s science class at Ely’s Memorial High School launched a weather balloon Wednesday morning. Timberwolves 5 was released around 10:45 a.m. and would land at 11:11 a.m. Thursday just west of Solon Springs, WI according to a link provided by the school. Students sent up a trial balloon first, then filled the weather balloon and sent it into the stratosphere. Attached to the balloon was a parachute, two GPS trackers, cameras and an experiment to see if hardboiled eggs or unboiled eggs will be more durable at very low temperatures. The balloon ascended slowly until it popped at an altitude of around 22000 meters, about double the cruising altitude of most trans-oceanic passenger jets. Somewhere over Duluth, the balloon began its long fall back to Earth. Photos by Eric Sherman.