Post AScTmGTNeq9eONSg9Q by christopherd@mastodon.nz
(DIR) More posts by christopherd@mastodon.nz
(DIR) Post #ASbplfPnRQnlIDwfgm by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-12T16:45:34Z
0 likes, 2 repeats
Approximately 1600 instrumented high altitude weather balloons are released around the world to drift freely -- EVERY DAY.
(DIR) Post #ASbpx0HcC8y3CQWZ2O by zzzeek@fosstodon.org
2023-02-12T16:46:52Z
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@lauren what, how is that possible. do they fall to earth quickly and that's why we can still see the sky?
(DIR) Post #ASbpzFkpdzvhlIGMNM by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-12T16:48:04Z
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@zzzeek Sky is Big.
(DIR) Post #ASbq90NhehuQyl5vou by BradRubenstein@infosec.exchange
2023-02-12T16:49:44Z
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So many weather balloons!@lauren
(DIR) Post #ASbqjdTDniiCdW8uDQ by martinvermeer@fediscience.org
2023-02-12T16:56:30Z
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@lauren But they don't drift very far - they are designed to burst, and the payload comes down by parachute.https://www.weather.gov/bmx/kidscorner_weatherballoons
(DIR) Post #ASbqrsjWwANuI4he52 by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-12T16:57:55Z
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@martinvermeer That is correct. However, every day a significant number misbehave and go MUCH further. Remember, we're talking about more than half a million balloons a year!
(DIR) Post #ASbqtvIIO53ooNwBlI by WN1X@noc.social
2023-02-12T16:57:38Z
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@lauren A typical weather balloon lasts around two hours before popping and crashing to earth. They don't last days to weeks.
(DIR) Post #ASbr5QJhO0pqDD4sRE by ProfCharlesHaas@mastodon.social
2023-02-12T17:00:22Z
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@lauren Any data on how large their typical payloads are? The size of a VW beetle? The size of 2 or 3 busses?
(DIR) Post #ASbrAmgXeGNN2CJo8W by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-12T17:01:21Z
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@ProfCharlesHaas Depends. Of course, we're not counting all the other purposes balloons are sent up, by every country that has the capability to do so.
(DIR) Post #ASbrCWrbRZOaXmKAN6 by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-12T17:01:41Z
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@ProfCharlesHaas BTW, don't confuse size with density.
(DIR) Post #ASbrHD3KWl5aY82cue by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-12T17:02:31Z
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@ProfCharlesHaas Point is, the sky is full of stuff. Nothing in that regard has significantly changed. What *has* changed is North American governments going trigger happy for political purposes.
(DIR) Post #ASbsUnQOhxsd4esDRo by bobwyman@mastodon.social
2023-02-12T17:16:05Z
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@lauren I've been somewhat puzzled that so little #balloon press coverage has mentioned Google's Project #Loon.Project Loon used high-altitude balloons, loaded with communications equipment, to provide Internet access in remote areas. It was often noted that Loon's balloons could also be used to monitor local electronic traffic and might even be outfitted with cameras and other sensing devices -- although Google appears not to have intended such a use for them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loon_LLC
(DIR) Post #ASbsZ6Y5Xzg9XpWd0K by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-12T17:16:54Z
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@bobwyman Most likely because (AFAIK) the project is dead.
(DIR) Post #ASbshXwdZd4apQ27NY by briansullivan@mastodon.sdf.org
2023-02-12T17:18:26Z
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@lauren 500,000 per year — seems like that is a lot. Where is this information documented?
(DIR) Post #ASbstQnvwn1W9qd4dM by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-12T17:20:09Z
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@briansullivan It's not a secret. Nor new. E.g.: https://www.highaltitudescience.com/pages/intro-to-weather-balloons
(DIR) Post #ASbtGjhrprlTRTu8IK by johnmu@mastodon.social
2023-02-12T17:24:41Z
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@lauren SPIES, SPIES EVERYWHERE!
(DIR) Post #ASbv41ViWruAnvHrJg by davidisen@newsie.social
2023-02-12T17:44:55Z
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@lauren Yup - Suddenly we have a 3-balloon invasion panic . . . next will we have Colin Powell giving a UN speech or stories about a Gulf of Tonkin incident?
(DIR) Post #ASbyKh5e0NXwFxjTH6 by hanscath@squawk.mytransponder.com
2023-02-12T18:21:34Z
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@lauren Just wait until the US Military and certain excitable people find out about the avian fauna that cross international borders without approved flight plans.
(DIR) Post #ASc2fCkgOcjI3vxnvM by billjanssen@writing.exchange
2023-02-12T19:10:05Z
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@lauren Time for a wall -- a very very very high wall!
(DIR) Post #AScKAexhGEQvkfdSVs by samuel_wade@mstdn.ca
2023-02-12T22:26:16Z
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@lauren @burritojustice Well, I wish them luck.
(DIR) Post #AScTLIkF6QAZcUUXIm by christopherd@mastodon.nz
2023-02-13T00:09:08Z
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@lauren made from toxic plastic so polluting the environment daily.
(DIR) Post #AScTNcfxyEJM0vb9d2 by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-13T00:09:35Z
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@christopherd A drop in the pollution bucket.
(DIR) Post #AScTmGTNeq9eONSg9Q by christopherd@mastodon.nz
2023-02-13T00:13:26Z
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@lauren A drop is a drop still. I just get frustrated.
(DIR) Post #AScUEetoR13iG1MdhQ by josephgruber@josephgruber.space
2023-02-13T00:19:01Z
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@lauren at least in the US, they’d also have radar reflectors.
(DIR) Post #AScYSj26GJxuwsCgPA by RichSPK@tech.lgbt
2023-02-13T01:06:24Z
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@lauren do they usually notify organizations such as the FAA? Do they file flight plans?
(DIR) Post #AScfE3ee0aM0F0BYuW by zbare@twit.social
2023-02-13T02:22:04Z
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@lauren weather balloons are nowhere close to the size of these balloons being shot down. Not a valid comparison.
(DIR) Post #AScjQb9JhXidPlldom by sudnadja@twit.social
2023-02-13T03:09:10Z
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@lauren @martinvermeer How many are in that significant number? What's the likelihood that any given balloon will last more than two weeks?
(DIR) Post #AScjWngvyymA3ERuWu by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-13T03:10:26Z
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@sudnadja @martinvermeer Varies widely depending largely on the weather, ironically. I don't think anybody compiles definitive numbers since so many different agencies around the world are involved. But clearly many are lost.
(DIR) Post #AScjnGWcY0Bc6uTahk by sudnadja@twit.social
2023-02-13T03:13:23Z
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@lauren @martinvermeer That's what I'm trying to get a handle on - what's many? 1/1600 per day? 1599/1600 per day? It's possible that there are decades-old ballons up there still floating around?
(DIR) Post #ASclbSJL6OhD63lCjo by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-13T03:33:40Z
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@sudnadja @martinvermeer Decades old. No. Balloons leak helium.
(DIR) Post #AScrbO4nRguZgkJCbI by LoneLocust@mastodon.social
2023-02-13T04:40:51Z
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@lauren @leo …and they’ve all got a target on their back now.
(DIR) Post #AShxVfpk5COCXUj3Am by andrewault@twit.social
2023-02-15T15:38:18Z
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@lauren Of those, how many weigh 1000 kilos?
(DIR) Post #AShz1GtcR2X0PyAaNE by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-02-15T15:57:31Z
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@andrewault Depending on the instrumentation and comm packages, quite a few.