Impressive image of the Aerostar balloon transporting the HELIX experiment flying above Hilleshamn, Norway on May 28, 2024.

The balloon crossed the Ocean and landed earlier today on Ellesmere Island after more than six days of traveling at 115,000 ft.

Image taken by Kjetil Henriksen - Via Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kjetilhenriksen71/

#NASA #Balloon #Astrophysics #Esrange #HELIX #CosmicRays #Science #Technology #Space #EllesmereIsland #Canada #Nunavut #Hilleshamn

First balloon mission of the NASA balloon campaign in ESRANGE has been terminated at about 11:00 UTC today.

Payload (HELIX instrument) descended in Ellesmere Island, Nunavut Territories, Canada after 6 days and 8 hours of flight.

The landing point is located in a permanent snow and ice area 120 miles NNE of Grise Fiord the only populated settlement on the island.

#NASA #Balloon #Astrophysics #Esrange #HELIX #CosmicRays #Science #Technology #Space #EllesmereIsland #Canada #Nunavut

The Ice Bridge: A Haven for #Seabirds in Pikialasorsuaq
https://www.oceansnorth.org/en/blog/2024/03/the-ice-bridge-a-haven-for-seabirds-in-pikialasorsuaq/

"In early spring, when ice still covers most of #BaffinBay, millions of #birds migrate north to the open waters of #Pikialasorsuaq, a huge #polynya between #Greenland’s west coast and #Canada’s #EllesmereIsland, where they feed and raise their young. Pikialasorsuaq is a very special area. It’s the most productive open water in the #Arctic"

Early Relatives of #Primates Lived in High #Arctic 52 Million Years Ago https://www.sci.news/paleontology/ellesmere-island-primates-11602.html

Basal #Primatomorpha colonized #EllesmereIsland (Arctic #Canada) during the hyperthermal conditions of the early #Eocene climatic optimum: Kristen Miller et al. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0280114

No primate relative has ever been found at such extreme latitudes. The #ArcticCircle was much warmer when these close evolutionary cousins of primates lived, but like today was still mostly dark for half of the year.