Weather balloonIn 1904, the first balloon used for meteorologic research in the U.S. was released in St. Louis, Missouri. The balloon carried instruments that would return to Earth when the balloon burst. Since this first launch, literally millions of weather balloons have been launched by the National Weather Service and its predecessor organizations. Meteorologic data is gathered by a variety of observational and analytical instruments on the surface of the Earth, in balloons, and now instruments are carried in satellites.[Image: from The Principles of Aerography by Alexander McAdie, 1917] |