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Photographing the Photographer

Image taken using a camera carried by a high-altitude scientific balloon flown over Northern Nevada by students and faculty at the University of Nevada, Reno and Dilworth STEM Academy (Middle School) in Sparks, NV.

 

We launched TWO balloons at the same time, configured to rise at exactly the same rate, so that they could take pictures of each other along the way (requires lots of luck too).

 

At the time of this photo, the balloon was located about 17 miles above Fernley NV and both were experiencing a bit of a wind gust, causing them to tilt in the wind.

 

Notice that even though it is daytime, the sky is black at this altitude, and that you can make out the thin layer of atmosphere coating the limb of the Earth. There is no atmosphere above this, so the sunlight isn't being scattered, which would normally create a blue sky.

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Uploaded on February 20, 2012
Taken on February 15, 2012