Hot air balloons. All they're now used for are touristy trips and weather forecasts, long replaced by helicopters and airplanes. But they were crucial to the meteorological discoveries of the 19th century and achieving humankind's dreams of becoming closer to the Moon and stars.
Synopsis
The Aeronauts, a 2019 adventure film, depicts pilots James Glaisher and Amelia Wren on a hot-air balloon journey to the sky. Glaisher is based on a real British meteorologist of the same name. Wren, on the other hand, is a fictional character. She’s based on Glaisher’s co-pilot Henry Tracy Coxwell, who undertook the record-breaking ascent along with Glaisher in 1862.
Glaisher's Legacy
Glaisher’s work was vital to the growth of meteorology which led to the accurate weather forecasts that we know today. His pioneering spirit continues in those who seek to reach farther beyond in space and communicate to people the vast wonders of the sky.
Other than the replacement of Coxwell and Glaisher's status in the scientific community, the film stays largely true to history. According to MetOffice UK, their ascent broke the record for altitude at the time at 28,900 feet, rising additionally to an estimated 36,000 feet. Glaisher brought various kinds of instruments, collecting data on humidity, temperature, pressure, and chemical composition of the atmosphere throughout the ascent. These measurements led to the discovery of the stratosphere, the second layer in the Earth's atmosphere above the troposphere(the innermost layer).
Glaisher also shared with the public the science behind his balloon flights. In his book about his ascents published in 1871, Travels In the Air, he made meteorology more accessible by including "detailed drawings and maps, colorful accounts of his adventures and vivid descriptions of his precise observations"(Smithsonian Magazine).
Glaisher’s work was vital to the growth of meteorology which led to the accurate weather forecasts that we know today. His pioneering spirit continues in those who seek to reach farther beyond in space and communicate to people the vast wonders of science.
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Bibliography
Magazine, Smithsonian. “The True History of the Aeronauts Who Transformed Our View of the World Above.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 9 Dec. 2019, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/their-balloons-first-aeronauts-transformed-our-view-world-180973715/.
“James Glaisher FRS Meteorologist and Aeronaut.” Met Office, Met Office, https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/library-and-archive/archive-hidden-treasures/james-glaisher.
Other works about the history of aerospace engineering:
Hidden Figures
Apollo 13
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