March 1973

From The Space Library

A large comet from 16 to 160 km (10 to 100 mi) in diameter was discovered past Jupiter's orbit by Czechslovakian-born astronomer Dr. Lubos Kohoutek, using a telescope at Hamburg Obser­vatory in Bergedorf, West Germany. Dr. Brian Marsden, Director of the Smithsonian Institution's Central Telegram Bureau, said later that Comet Kohoutek should reach perihelion, its closest point to the sun­21 million km (13 million mi)-Dec. 27, "when it should shine per­haps as luminously as the star Sirius. " Its nearest approach to the earth would be 121 million to 129 million km (75 million to 80 million mi) in mid-January 1974. The comet should be visible six weeks be­fore, and northern hemisphere observers should enjoy a good view of it Jan. 10-15, 1974. (Alexander, W Post, 4/15/73, G7)

The House Committee on Science and Astronautics published The Federal Government and Energy R. & D.: Historical Background. The report, by the Science Policy Research Div. of the Library of Congress Congres­sional Research Service, said energy research and development in the Federal Government had "followed a typically American pragmatic course. A need has appeared-necessary research has been conducted­ development has occurred almost simultaneously." One exception was the National Science Foundation. "Its support of basic research in­cludes energy R&D projects which may or may not be based on any demonstrated needs for practical results." To a much less extent, "basic research is conducted in other Federal agencies but their projects are usually mission-oriented." There was no comprehensive national energy R&D program or policy. (Text)

Russian translation computers of the Foreign Translation Div. of Wright­-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, would be used in the exchange of technical and scientific information necessary for the Apollo Soyuz Test Project, the Air Force Systems Command News review reported. The computers, called Systrain, translated Russian to English at the rate of 100 000 to 300 000 words per hour using 10 topical glossaries and 300 000 terms. Systrain could translate multiple-meaning Russian words, resolve problems of ambiguity, analyze sentence structure, and provide finished English translations of technical documents. (AFSC Newsreview, 3/73, 12)

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