D4 Special Project: Capture Footage of Solar Eclipse from 10,000 ft.

Recently, D4 Advanced Media partnered with Vertical Explorers to launch a weather balloon into the upper atmosphere to obtain footage of the August 21st solar eclipse.

The balloon took off carrying ten on-board GoPros and tracking/transmission devices. Lifting off from Garden Valley Idaho at 10:47am MDT, the intrepid capsule climbed into the sky, gathering amazing birds-eye footage along the way. At 11:11am (our wish was granted), the capsule caught the first glimpses of the eclipse as the moon crept into the Sun’s rays. Onlookers from the launch site noted that the temperature dropped about ten degrees in the moments surrounding the eclipse. The D4 and Vertical Explorers teams analyzed the footage upon the capsule’s return saw it had swayed violently in the moments before, during, and after the eclipse. It is speculated that the temperature change from the eclipse magnified the winds in the upper atmosphere. Nonetheless, the earth could be seen growing dark as the shadow of the moon descended upon it. We call that a success. D4 put together a video of the capsule’s journey – an experience that was out of this world!

Check it out here: