Look to the Stars: Three Rockets Set to Illuminate the Night Sky, Visible in Certain Eastern States
For those who find themselves awake late into the night, the dark sky could be lit up by the sight of three rockets zooming across it. This spectacle will be visible for those in New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, and several other states on the eastern seaboard.
Plans have been revealed to launch three probing rockets in a timespan of just five minutes. The location for this launch is set to be a flight facility located in the east of Virginia.
Delayed Departure
The original plan was to send these rockets into the sky last week, but the weather intervened. The impacts from a passing hurricane meant the launch had to be put on hold. With the storm now gone, a new date was decided on: Monday night. However, extensive cloud coverage caused another delay, this time at around 1 a.m.
Now, the team behind the launch is setting their sights on a Tuesday night launch. The window for launch will open at 10:30 p.m., with the last chance for launch being around 3 a.m.
Colorful Tracers
The first two rockets are set to launch within a minute of each other. These rockets will release colorful vapor tracers, similar to those used in firework displays.
The purpose of these tracers is to allow scientists to take photographs and create maps of the wind patterns in the upper atmosphere.
Approximately five minutes after the first two rockets are launched, a third rocket, carrying special equipment, will follow them into the sky.
Viewing Areas
The image above shows the regions across the United States where people will have the chance to see these rockets high in the sky. For those in New Jersey, they'll need to gaze into the south-southeastern sky.
While the flight facility's visitor center will be closed and won't allow public viewing of the rockets, plans are in place to provide a livestream on a popular video-sharing website. This stream will begin five minutes before the launch.
Current Weather Conditions
The recent weather has seen tropical storm Fernand move out to sea, but dangerous rip currents persist at the Jersey Shore. Despite the forecast for a sunny weekend, the risk of deadly rip currents and coastal flooding remains high.
There's also a high possibility that a new tropical storm will form in the Atlantic by the coming weekend.
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