Have you found a weather balloon?
Launched from the ground, radiosondes are meteorological devices that are
used to measure temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed and direction in the
upper atmosphere. A balloon filled with hydrogen or helium gas carries the
radiosonde into the upper atmosphere. Depending on the size of the balloon, the
expansion that takes place as it rises into lower pressure causes the balloon to
burst and the instrument will fall back to Earth to where you found it in this
case. During the radiosonde’s flight, it constantly transmits atmospheric
temperature, humidity and pressure data to automated receiving ground equipment.
This equipment, called a sounding system, processes and converts the data into
meteorological weather messages that are sent to the global weather network.
Radiosondes are launched by our various customers such as the national
weather institutes, environmental and research organizations. Unfortunately, we
do not keep a record of what serial number goes to what customer so we don't
know who has sent those individual radiosondes that land on the
ground.
Should you have found a radiosonde, and there are
instructions on the radiosonde cover for returning the device, please follow
them. If there are no instructions for returning the device and you do not want
to keep it, please dispose of it by following your country’s guidelines for the
disposal of electrical waste. If you want to keep the radiosonde, please remove
the battery and dispose of it in an approved receptacle for used batteries.
The Vaisala Radiosonde you have found poses no danger to you. It is also made
of materials that are benign in the natural environment.