Coos Bay, OR – The Southwestern Physics Experimental Atmospheric Research (SPEAR) group will be holding their first balloon launch of the 2019-2020 academic year on Saturday, November 23, 2019 in Henry Hansen Union Square (the quad) on Southwestern’s Coos campus, 1988 Newmark Ave., Coos Bay. The launch time will be approximately 12:00 pm, depending on airport clearance time. This year’s team includes Southwestern students Madi Davis, Matt Thomas, Matthew Smith, and Zach Warner, along with volunteer researcher Krystal Hopper, and Southwestern’s physics professor Dr. Aaron Coyner. The team will launch a 350-gram weather balloon equipped with a radiosonde device for making meteorological measurements throughout the balloon’s ascent. For and ideal launch, the balloon could reach altitudes of 80,000 to 100,000 feet, providing valuable atmospheric information throughout. We hope to see community support for our students continued involvement in undergraduate hands-on STEM research. We thank Oregon NASA Space Grant Consortium for their support and for providing the balloons and radiosondes. For further information please contact Dr. Aaron Coyner in the Southwestern physics department at (541) 888-7244 or by email at aaron.coyner@socc.edu.
