Oct 9 1968

From The Space Library

Univ. of California at Los Angeles astronomer Dr. Kurt Riegel and graduate student Mark Jennings reported discovery of cloud of in­tensely cold interstellar hydrogen gas near region of galaxy where star formation was known to be taking place, about 3,000 light years from earth in direction of Milky Way. Dr. Riegel said, "The implication is that the process of star formation may in some way depend on the cool­ing of the gas floating around between the stars." (Getze, LA Times, 10/9/68)

NASA was completing tests for USAF Cambridge Research Laboratories in which individual plastic hailstone models were dropped from 20,000- to 25,000-ft altitudes near NASA Wallops Station to study speed at which hailstones fell to earth and its effect on their size and growth rate in atmosphere. Wind-tunnel tests had confirmed that size and weight to which naturally formed hailstones would grow was related to speed they fell and thus to length of time spent in storm clouds. Shape and surface roughness affected fall speed by changing drag characteristics. Wallops test data would check tunnel results and would be applied in predicting growth of real hailstones. (NASA Release 68-172)

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