Project Stratoscope
On August 19, 1957, an unmanned Skyhook balloon lifted the first Project Stratoscope telescope. Project Stratoscope was a program developed to research the Sun. Instruments included a 12-inch (30-centimeter) telescope with a special light-sensitive pointing system and a closed circuit television camera that was guided by the scientists on the ground. This was the first balloon-borne telescope. The telescope took more than 400 photographs of sunspots. These were the sharpest photographs taken of the Sun up to that time. The photographs increased scientists' understanding of the motions observed in the strong magnetic fields of the sunspots.
Read more about this topic: Skyhook Balloon
Famous quotes containing the word project:
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