MAINE PUBLIC • March 19, 2024
About 10 students from the University of Maine are preparing to launch a high altitude weather balloon that will livestream the total solar eclipse from the stratosphere on April 8. The balloon, which has a parachute attached and can expand up to 40 feet in diameter in the air, will launch about an hour or two before totality. It will travel above the clouds at up to 90,000 feet. The camera on board will capture the eclipse, though Eason said the group is hoping for clear skies.