Day Twenty-nine - Weather Balloon Launch

Today was a sea day so the passengers were looking for something to do.  How about the weekly weather  balloon launch?  At 8:30 AM a crowd arrived on deck 6, cameras in hand to watch the weekly launch.  The weather was great, light wind, comfortable temperature (60s) with a few scattered clouds.

At 9 AM sharp the balloon lifted off, almost straight up!  The captain stops the ship during the launch to reduce the surface wind and make it easier for the launch team.

The passengers were all very excited watching the balloon disappear into the upper stratosphere.  (I can only imagine their excitement if they were to see 500 hot air balloons at Albuquerque!!)

During the next two hours, a crowd gathered down at the "exploration center" to watch the data come in live from the sonde. Our chief scientist explained what we were seeing.  Today's balloon ascended to around 100,000 feet before it burst.