Student's Space Photography

[MrLion]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...=feeds-newsxml

This is an excellent story, this young man has a great future ahead of him if he can produce these results on £200!

[1968]

Did you see “James May’s Man Lab” Series 2 episode 3?

They sent up two weather balloons. One filled with the cremated remains of a pet cat and the other filled with the cremated remains of a pet budgerigar. If I remember correctly, the experiment was to see how high each of the two gasses used to fill the balloons would take the “funeral in space”. Some of the video imagery is great, all on a similar shoestring budget.

Link to a video of the piece;

http://community.vhx.tv/558384


And more recently, five weather balloons sent up during the start of the London Olympics opening ceremony.
Blink and you’d miss the large white weather balloons being released. Blink and you’d miss the images shown on the stadium screens later in the event.

[stooo]

I dont want to talk down this chaps achievement, but I can take a photo of space from my back garden. I'll just point the camera upwards.

By even the most conservative boundary designation, 30miles is not 'in' space.

So if I need a little more elevation I'll just google that.

[AlphaOmega]

I dont want to talk down this chaps achievement, but I can take a photo of space from my back garden. I'll just point the camera upwards.

By even the most conservative boundary designation, 30miles is not 'in' space.

So if I need a little more elevation I'll just google that.

Good point.

Provided the student's balloon could expand enough, I wonder if it would continue going up until it reached space?

I realise it must pop at some point though - perhaps that limit is quite low.

I knew I should have paid more attention in physics...

[stooo]

Good point.

Provided the student's balloon could expand enough, I wonder if it would continue going up until it reached space?

I realise it must pop at some point though - perhaps that limit is quite low.

I knew I should have paid more attention in physics...

I think if it could expand enough and withstand the UV and whatever else it would get bombarded by I assume it would find a point of neutral buoyancy which may or may not be in space. I suppose it would be unlikely to just float off into outer space since beyond a certain point there would be no atmosphere providing lift.

I, of course, am less qualified than a rat to be anywhere near sure about anything above.

[AlphaOmega]

I think if it could expand enough and withstand the UV and whatever else it would get bombarded by I assume it would find a point of neutral buoyancy which may or may not be in space. I suppose it would be unlikely to just float off into outer space since beyond a certain point there would be no atmosphere providing lift.

I, of course, am less qualified than a rat to be anywhere near sure about anything above.

I've no idea either but I'm thinking there are some practical benefits provided enough balloonage (the technical term) can be found.

More accurately, I was thinking it might be possible to send up unwanted items that the council won't collect - elderly freezers, foxes or relatives that insist on staying over Xmas.

[gentlemenpreferhats]

To avoid bursting, a more effective way is to start with only a small amount of helium and then release its slowly so you get a roughly constant buoyancy- this is what weather balloons do to get to up to 50km. At some point, however the weight of the material in the balloon itself would make it heavier than the now much lighter air or in fact non-existent air outside. Eventually, there wouldn't be enough air around it to provide any lift through displacement and it would just stop. A balloon would never reach "space" as you'ld never get up enough velocity to beat gravity.
(Please correct me if my physics is off)

Without denying the young man's achievement, its a fairly common experiment though perhaps not in our own science-less country. My own company of employment is in in the aerospace industry and we frequently hear of young men (and they are usually men) who've done similar feats. My favourite was a chap in Italy who had done something similar with a second-hand Blackberry. There's a nascent industry devoted to making very very small satellites where this skill is valued.

I have thought about doing something similar with freezers & relatives & places I've enjoyed living in but the amount of helium you have to buy is annoyingly large.

/boring mode off

[AlphaOmega]

To avoid bursting, a more effective way is to start with only a small amount of helium and then release its slowly so you get a roughly constant buoyancy- this is what weather balloons do to get to up to 50km. At some point, however the weight of the material in the balloon itself would make it heavier than the now much lighter air or in fact non-existent air outside. Eventually, there wouldn't be enough air around it to provide any lift through displacement and it would just stop. A balloon would never reach "space" as you'ld never get up enough velocity to beat gravity.
(Please correct me if my physics is off)

Without denying the young man's achievement, its a fairly common experiment though perhaps not in our own science-less country. My own company of employment is in in the aerospace industry and we frequently hear of young men (and they are usually men) who've done similar feats. My favourite was a chap in Italy who had done something similar with a second-hand Blackberry. There's a nascent industry devoted to making very very small satellites where this skill is valued.

I have thought about doing something similar with freezers & relatives & places I've enjoyed living in but the amount of helium you have to buy is annoyingly large.

/boring mode off

Ah, right. That makes sense, actually.


Perhaps we can club together and buy enough helium for our dastardly fiendish plans.

**evil laughter followed by coughing and spluttering tea over monitor - gives up trying to sound evil**

[Rob]

I'm surprised these things still make the newspapers....I saw the same story in the Telegraph.....they do seem to happen quite often, and the only difference with this one is that he didn't stick a Lego spaceman in front of the lens.

[stooo]

Ah, right. That makes sense, actually.


Perhaps we can club together and buy enough helium for our dastardly fiendish plans.

**evil laughter followed by coughing and spluttering tea over monitor - gives up trying to sound evil**

Can I tie all the neighbourhood cats to it?

I'm surprised these things still make the newspapers....I saw the same story in the Telegraph.....they do seem to happen quite often, and the only difference with this one is that he didn't stick a Lego spaceman in front of the lens.

You are also missing the assistance from a heavily bearded, bottle top bespectacled uncle. Though one may be lurking in the background.