At the beginning of spring, I was working out just past the Sherwood Park area in one of the higher class and more secluded neighbourhoods and came across something that took me a minute to figure out. There was a small white box with string tied to it. At the other end of the string, there was remnants of a latex material partly stuck in the trees.
On closer inspection, I realized that I had found a Weather Balloon. These are apparently a very rare find as most Weather Balloons go missing for good. The small white box was sealed shut but had lots of little wires sticking out of it, presumably antenna for transmitting assorted data. On the label of the device were instructions of disposal and a 1-800 number to contact Environment Canada if you had any questions about the device. The device is known as a 'Radiosonde'.
Unfortunately, at the time I found it, I didn't have my camera with me and hadn't even come up with the idea to make this blog site. However, I do believe that this find is what made me think of starting this site, so in a way, this is the object that inspired me. Cool!
Incidentally, if you are worried now about random objects falling from the sky, these units are designed to fall with a parachute and in remote areas so nobody gets hurt. It's also a practice that weathermen have been doing for many years and nobody has been injured yet that I have ever heard of.
For more information on these devices, you could check out this site or just do a search for 'Radiosonde' devices.
www.tpub.com/content/aerographer/14270/css/14270_20.htm
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