Nov 25 1973
From The Space Library
Compelling evidence of the existence of a previously predicted black hole in space had been discovered by a Univ. College team in London, using NASA'S OAO 3 Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (launched Aug. 21, 1972), NASA announced. The scientists, headed by Dr. R. L. F. Boyd with Dr. Peter Sanford, had tied the binary super-giant star system HDE 226868 to the x-ray source Cygnus X-1 and had detected evidence of the structure of the star system's gas clouds swirling around and into the x-ray source, or black hole. Using OAO 3, they had also observed extended x-ray sources identified with clusters of galaxies like those in the Perseus, Coma, Virgo, and Centaurus constellations. They believed enormous upheavals in the nucleus of the Seyfert galaxy were affecting the entire Perseus cluster of several thousand galaxies. They also believed the x-ray emission detected in the Seyfert galaxy might be associated with the inverse Compton effect, in which high-velocity electrons traveling near the speed of light collided with radio and optical photons. Their conclusions suggested that x-rays originated in the most active galaxies of the cluster. (NASA Release 73-251)
President Nixon, in a nationwide address, announced new measures to con-serve energy, including a 15% reduction in jet aircraft fuel consumption for passenger flights, and restated the Government's overall objective in the energy crisis: "What I have called Project Independence-1980 is a series of plans and goals set to insure that by the end of this decade Americans will not have to rely on any source of energy beyond our own." (PD, 12/3/73, 1363-6)
A Los Angeles Times article by James Oberg urged that a fifth Skylab mission be undertaken: "There are some unique opportunities this proposed mission could take advantage of. A Skylab in February or March would fill the gap in the cycle of seasonal Skylab coverage. A complete year could be surveyed at the selected Skylab observation sites. This would be particularly valuable for agricultural and ecological studies." (CR, 12/11/73, E7920)
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