What Purdue University Fort Wayne sent during the eclipse happened in Buffalo | Local

Janet North was at her office Wednesday when an unknown number popped up on her phone.

By the end of the conversation, North had planned a road trip to Buffalo, New York, to meet the couple who made his day. Maybe his month.

New York residents were returning from a fishing trip Wednesday when they spotted something in the water near the pier. It was a weather balloon launched on April 8 by students and faculty at Purdue University in Fort Wayne. North, whose name was attached as a contact person, is the outreach program coordinator for the university’s College of Engineering, Technology and Computer Science.

“I walked out of my office and said, ‘Oh, my God, you won’t believe this,'” she said of breaking the news to her colleagues. “Our office was disrupted for hours because we were all so engaged.”

The hydrogen-filled balloon’s travels took it from the local campus into northern Ohio airspace before landing in Lake Erie near Cleveland, according to its attached GPS tracker. North assumes it floated from there to the Buffalo area.

However, after two months without news, North had given up all hope of ever knowing the exact location of the weather balloon. Katy Henry, director of engagement for PFW’s College of Engineering, Technology and Computer Science, had also dropped out.

“I was like, ‘You’re kidding.’ This is not possible,’” said Henry, who added that she literally jumped after hearing the news.

“I would love to hear his story,” she said. “Was he underwater the whole time? Was it floating? How many people saw him in the distance?

It is too early to say whether the balloon collected information of scientific interest. North and her husband plan to pick it up Friday. She hopes the 360-degree waterproof camera could have captured photos of the eclipse from high altitudes.

The balloon launch was one of 11 launches coordinated statewide with NearSpace Education, a Highlands-based nonprofit organization that works to inspire student interest in science , technology, engineering and mathematics. The identical balloons were filled with hydrogen instead of helium because the gas is safer and cheaper, North said.

Another of the participating weather balloons was released April 8 by PFW faculty members at the Monroeville branch of the Allen County Public Library. He was found the same day, about three hours later, in Risingsun, about 60 miles east of Defiance, North said.

University faculty and staff expected both balloons to land in the Bowling Green area, about 90 miles northeast of Fort Wayne, based on initial projections that took into account direction and wind speed, balloon weight and other factors, North said. But the wind was stronger than expected that day.

Scientists can theorize how substances will react at different altitudes, but they cannot be sure until they conduct experiments. The balloon launched from campus included pieces of metal, concrete, plastic and “little space people” in its 12-pound payload. But the items were not attached when the remains of the balloon were found.

Payloads from previous balloons have included things like batteries, which can explode at higher altitudes, and popcorn kernels, North said.

“Just to see what’s going to happen with the temperature changes,” she added. The popcorn will “rise so high it will burst.”