NASA's three rockets to create light show in night sky tonight

NASA is all set to launch three small rockets that could paint the sky with colorful vapor trails; some people on the East Coast will be able to see colorful vapor trails that will be released shortly after liftoff.

NASA is launching suborbital research rockets from its Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia and Wallops Island.

However, residents of several mid-Atlantic states including parts of Virginia, North Carolina, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Jersey will be able to catch the rocket's visible vapor trails.

Primarily, the three rockets are a part of TOMEX+mission which is insufficient for Turbulent Oxygen Mixing Experiments Plus.

The prime motive of the flights is to specifically study a part of Earth’s atmosphere known as the mesopause. It is located between 53 miles and 65 miles in altitude.

Scientists have been eager to know more about the climate because it is known to be a “mixing ground where weather patterns from the lower atmosphere transfer energy upward into space, fueling turbulence that can increase drag on satellites.”

The first two rockets will launch in quick succession, releasing colorful vapor tracers that will be visible from the ground. A third rocket is equipped with a laser shortly after it.

The shining of a laser on the vapor trails, will provide a clearer and more accurate depiction of how the glowing tracers are moving.

Researchers will be able to track the twists, enabling them to track motions in the upper atmosphere as energy moves through it.

The earlier attempts to launch TOMEX were called off because of Hurricane Erin which roiled up the Atlantic Ocean last week, created high seas in NASA’s designated rocket recovery area.