Astronomers Discover New Planet Out Beyond Neptune

The recently discovered planet, already named Pluto, is judged to be the same size as the earth.

The late Percival Lowell, shown above, predicted the planet’s discovery 25 years ago. The picture of the planet was obtained with a 24-inch reflector and is from a 30-times enlargement of the plate. It was taken by Prof. George Van Biesbroeck of Yerkes Observatory at Williams Bay, Wisc. The bright glow on the plate is the near-by star, Delta Geminorum.

SATURN S-IVB is built by DOUGLAS

A key factor in the NASA Apollo program, the Saturn S-IVB, operating as the second and final stage of the Saturn IB, will place the Apollo spacecraft into earth orbit. It will also operate as the third and final stage of the Saturn V, which NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) has assigned to sending a manned Apollo to the moon late in this decade. S-IVB is 58 feet tall and 22 feet in diameter.

This is an excellent article, really not much different from current explanations of cosmic expansion.

Yes, I know the numbers are way off and they’re missing dark matter, dark energy and a host of other things. But from a layman’s perspective, I think it gives a very good understanding of the basic concepts.

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The Mystery of the Vanishing Universe

In the case of the disappearing galaxies, the evidence is contradictory and the jury’s hung

by Morton M. Hunt

IN the files of the world’s astronomical observatories there are a number of photographs, enlarged from tiny negatives. They are hazy, smeary pictures, almost formless; all they show are some rather indistinct patches of light. But because these streaky patches of light never quite appear just where they should on the photograph, but are joggled a little bit offside from where all calculations say they should be (a phenomenon known to astronomers as the “red shift”), the photographs form the evidence of the greatest mystery of all science—the beginning of the universe, and its ultimate end.
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Hard to argue with compelling evidence like that.

Martian Life May Exist on Earth
THAT kinds of life which originated elsewhere in the solar system not only have reached the earth in past ages but still are here in much the same forms as when they arrived is the opinion of a Viennese scientist. Striking evidence is supplied by the bacteria which live in salty, desert regions and develop red colors, like the prevailing red color of the planet Mars.

Explosion of Sun Overdue

ACCORDING to calculations of astronomers, an explosion of the sun is some 600,000,000 years overdue, assuming that our private star has the same number of outbursts as the average star—which may not necessarily be correct. A definite number of star explosions occur in a definite area of space in a given period, and from these facts it is computed that the average star explodes once in 400,000,000 years.

Sure, it’s a “telescope”.

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German Telescope is UNIQUE in Design

ANEW departure in the way of design and operation of high power telescopes has been effected at the Treptow astronomical observatory, near Berlin, which is one of the best in Germany. Of a design that is distinctly unique—it might be called modernistic—the new mammoth telescope, shown in the photo at the left, has many features that add immensely to the facility of star-gazing.
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Tall Periscope Aids Golfers

A NOVEL “skyscraper” periscope shows golfers the blind fairway at the third hole at the Aberoovey golf course in Wales.

The unusual periscope is 30 feet tall. At the third hole of the course the fairway rises so abruptly from the driving tee that golfers can not see the green even though the hole is only 165 yards long. By peering through the periscope, waiting golfers can see in what direction to drive and also note when the putting green is clear.

The periscope is a hollow wood tube fastened to a pole. The top of the instrument is covered with a gabled roof to protect it from rain.

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race to the planets

BY WILLY LEY

It won’t be long! Earthmen are fast removing all obstacles to me conquest of Interplanetary space* EARTHMEN have set their thoughts on the conquest of space. More than that, they have set their hands to it. In dead earnest they are committed, in both the Old World and the New. It now can definitely be said, the race to the planets is on!

Most experts are agreed that the first unmanned guided missile will strike the Moon some day during the next ten years. The fist manned Moon rocket will probably follow within five years after that. But that trip will not include a landing; it will be merely a trip around the Moon, at a comparatively close but respectful distance, with return to Earth after circling it a few times.
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Is Radio Earthbound?

By D. C. WILKERSON

Can Radio Waves conquer interstellar Space and travel from planet to planet? That is the question the scientists hope to answer with Prof. Goddard’s proposed Moon Rocket, Which will contain a radio transmitter.

HOW IT LOOKED IN 1925

This article was originally published in RADIO NEWS, our sister publication, in March, 1925. It shows that even 33 years ago realistic individuals were thinking ahead on the subject of radio transmission. It is rather amazing that author Willterson predicted the future so well, as evidenced by the fact that we are receiving transmissions from space today. Note the similarity of the rocket conceived by Dr. Goddard back in 1925 (shown on page 52) to a modern rocket, the “Thor” (shown here).
—THE EDITORS
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Is There Life On Mars?

By G. Harry Stine

Viking-Aerobee Operations Engineer White Sands Proving Ground AT THIS moment the planet Mars is swinging to within 35,400,000 miles of the Earth—about the closest it ever gets—and astronomers the world over are training their telescopes on it. They will be making drawings, photographs, and spectrographs of the surface details in order to find answers to some of the mysteries which surround the sun’s fourth planet.

With the advent of the space travel era almost upon us Mars will be receiving a lot of attention because, after the moon, it is certainly the next target in space for our up and coming space explorers. And there are a number of important questions about that planet which can only be answered by going there. Read the rest of this entry »

Whole library in a nutshell
This latest space trick might work well with earthbound libraries. The magnifying viewer on the astronaut’s knee holds 12,000 pages of microfilmed manuals, maps, and navigation data for use in the Apollo lunar spacecraft. The film is coded and indexed so a flip of a switch puts any page on the screen in 15 seconds.

METEOR CUTS LIGHT WIRE

A meteor’s prank recently plunged the town of Herman, Nebr., in darkness. The heavenly missile. falling during the night, clipped a main transmission line. Then it dug a fifteen-inch hole in the ground, where witnesses say it lay spouting flames for hours. Electric repair men hurried to the scene to splice the first recorded break made by a meteor. When the object was recovered, it was found to have been fused into a shape grotesquely resembling a small pig. Read the rest of this entry »