Aug 25 1972
From The Space Library
Observations by Pioneer spacecraft during major explosions on sun [see Aug. 2 and 7] had differed from scientists' expectations and had provided new data on solar atmosphere, NASA announced. Measurements made by Pioneer 9 and 10, 212 million km (132 million mi) apart on direct line to sun, had shown that ionized gases traveled more slowly and increased in temperature as they moved away from sun. Pioneer 9, orbiting sun inside earth's orbit, had observed record solar wind speeds of 3.6 million km per hr (2.2 million mph) and had counted particles at levels 4000 times higher than usual. By time solar winds reached Pioneer 10, en route to Jupiter and 328 million km (204 million mi) from sun, winds had slowed to half speed measured at Pioneer 9 and temperatures had risen to 2 000 000 K (3 600 000°F), far above usual 100 000 K (180 000°F) . Although solar region 331 had rotated out of sight of earth, data were still being collected by Pioneer 6, 7, and 8. (NASA Release 72-179)
Dept. of Justice Criminal Div. was studying report submitted to it by NASA and transcript of Aug. 3 closed hearing by Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, Houston Chronicle reported. Study was to determin6 whether Apollo 15 astronauts had violated any Federal law in carrying unauthorized stamp covers to moon. Senate Committee spokesman had told Chronicle Committee had no plans for open hearing on incident. (H Chron, 8/25/72)
The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry by Northwestern Univ. astro- physicist Dr. J. Allen Hynek was reviewed in Science by Dr. Bruce C. Murray of California Institute of Technology Div. of Geological and Planetary Sciences: Book was "more than just an attempt to justify scientific interest in UFO [unidentified flying object] phenomena." Dr. Hynek had criticized 1968 report of Univ. of Colorado physicist Dr. Edward U. Condon and group that said further study of UFOs could not be justified "in the expectation that science will be advanced thereby." Air Force, which sponsored Condon study, had terminated UFO Project Blue Book investigation following Condon report recommendation, Hynek book was "Hynek's version of what the Condon report should have been." Book discussed 80 UFO sightings, drawn mainly from Project Blue Book files, many unexplained by Condon. Book advocated "sufficient scientific respectability for the UFO subject to permit modest federal research funds to be awarded to it and new data to be gathered without fear of ridicule." Dr. Hynek had "won reprieve for UFO's with his . . . provocative unexplained reports and his articulate challenge to his colleagues to tolerate the study of something they cannot understand." (Science, 8/25/72, 688- 9)
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