After a month of trying, NASA finally launched one of its small sounding rockets from the coast of Virginia, creating a delightful mix of colorful clouds in the upper atmosphere. The vibrant show was no fluke, but the main point of the mission. The rocket, a Terrier-Improved Malemute, was tasked with releasing canisters filled with multi-colored chemical vapors into the sky to create vivid clouds that could be seen from the ground.

Its a launch thats been a long time in the making

Its a launch thats been a long time in the making. Originally scheduled for May 31st, the mission has been continuously pushed back due to poor weather conditions. But at 4:25AM ET this morning, the sounding rocket finally got off the ground from NASAs Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, reaching an altitude of 118 miles. During the flight, which lasted just eight minutes, 10 canisters filled with chemicals called vapor tracers were released and formed the clouds.

Creating these artificial clouds helps researchers more easily track how particles move at super--high altitudes. And thats important when it comes to better understanding Earths ionosphere the upper part of our planets atmosphere that is ionized by solar and cosmic radiation. These ionized gases, which extend out into space, are manipulated by Earths magnetic field. Scientists have made models to predict how the ionosphere moves and changes across the globe, but the best way to prove if those models are correct is to see these particles in action.

These sounding rocket missions are an artful way to do that, and NASA assures everyone that the launches do not pose any threat to human health. The vapor tracers that are released are made of barium, lithium, and trimethylaluminum, the same ingredients you might find in fireworks. And NASAs sounding rockets release a whole lot less of these chemicals than a big fireworks show.

Its no surprise, then, that the result of NASAs mission does look a bit like a firework. And thanks to a new method of releasing the canisters, the clouds could be seen for many miles around, from North Carolina to New York. NASA says it got 2,000 reports of cloud sightings, but dont take the agencys word for it. Check out viewers shots of the vapor tracers on NASAs Wallops Facebook page.

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A small NASA rocket created a burst of colorful clouds in the night sky - The Verge