Stargazers along the East Coast can expect to see green, red, and blue clouds in the sky Tuesday evening after a NASA rocket launch in Virginia.
The launch is scheduled to take place between 9:04 and 9:19 p.m. from the Wallops Flight Facility.
According to NASA Wallops Island News Chief Keith Koehler, the launch will test a new multi-canister ampoule ejection system.
The twelve canisters, each roughly the size of a soft drink can, will eject vapor to form colorful clouds in the atmosphere. The colorful clouds are produced due to the interaction of barium with strontium and cupric-oxide, Koehler said.
Koehler says the ejection system, if successful, will allow NASA scientists to measure a “much broader dispersion of the vapors” and particle motions in space than was previously possible.
Weather permitting, the clouds will be visible from North Carolina to New York.
Live coverage of the launch is scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. on the Wallops Ustream site. Additionally, a Facebook live is planned for 8:50 p.m. on the Wallops Flight Facility Facebook page.
