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Photo-Mosaic, Aerobee

National Air and Space Museum

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Object Details

Manufacturer
Naval Research Laboratory
Summary
This original photomontage is believed to be the first high-altitude color image of the Earth's surface showing a tropical storm. On October 5, 1954 the Naval Research Laboratory launched an Aerobee-Hi rocket at the White Sands Proving Grounds that included two 16 mm movie cameras in its payload, one with black & white film, and the second with color film. After the spinning rocket reached its maximum altitude of 100 miles it tipped over to the horizontal position. The cameras thus captured images of the earth as it swept by below. The color film camera exposed frames at a rate of 6 images per second with an exposure of 1/500 second at F/3.5 behind a Wratten 2B (blue haze) filter. Individual frames of the recovered color film were then enlarged. An NRL scientist, Otto E. Berg, fitted together 117 of those to build this mosaic that depicts over one million square miles of the southwestern United States. The picture clearly reveals a large whirlpool of cloud left over from a tropical storm. The montage was transferred from NRL to NASM in 1962.
Credit Line
U. S. Navy / Naval Research Laboratory
Inventory Number
A19620042000
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
LITERATURE AND RESEARCH-Photos & Prints
Materials
Paper, photographic emulsion, wooden frame
Dimensions
2-D - In Frame (H x W x D): 72.4 × 130.8cm (2 ft. 4 1/2 in. × 4 ft. 3 1/2 in.)
2-D - Unframed (H x W): 65.4 × 123.8cm (2 ft. 1 3/4 in. × 4 ft. 3/4 in.)
Country of Origin
United States of America
See more items in
National Air and Space Museum Collection
National Air and Space Museum
Record ID
nasm_A19620042000
Metadata Usage (text)
Not determined
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv95292e56f-d58d-440c-9bcf-d92f1c494976

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