A great way to determine whether you a hot air balloon ride is for you is to try a tethered balloon ride at a fair or publicity event. In a tethered ride, balloons are anchored and pilots simply fly the balloon up and down with passengers in tow. Rides are short and last just a few minutes each.
The aorta is the largest artery in the body. The aorta begins at the top of the left ventricle, the heart's muscular pumping chamber. The heart pumps blood from the left ventricle into the aorta through the aortic valve. Three leaflets on the aortic valve open and close with each heartbeat to allow one-way flow of blood. The aorta is a tube about a foot long and just over an inch in diameter.
The Aorta is ARTERY that carries BLOOD from the HEART to the body. 1  The largest blood vessel in the body, the aorta arises from the left ventricle. At its widest point the aorta is about one and a half inches in diameter. As the aorta leaves the heart it ascends to curve behind the right atrium. The first arteries to branch from the base of the ascending aorta are the right and left CORONARY ARTERIES that supply the heart MUSCLE with blood. Branching from the arch as the aorta crests over the heart are the three arteries that carry blood to the upper body: