Page 10 THE BATTALION
WEDNESDAY. NOVEMBER 29, 1978
BONFIRE
SPECIAL
I
I
I
Spacecraft near Venus
Buy one pizza and geta
the second one for $ 1. ■
With this coupon buy any pizza (except the gour- 2
met special) at regular price and get the next I
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Imagine a
place hot enough to melt zinc, with
“air” pressure equal to the crushing
forces found under 3,300 feet of
water and with clouds made up in
part of sulfuric acid mist.
That’s Venus as we now know it. A
more detailed picture of Earth’s
nearest planetary neighbor may
emerge in the next several weeks
from eight American and Soviet
spacecraft now approaching Venus.
Conceptions about the planet
most similar to Earth in size, mass
and distance from the sun have
changed markedly in the past two
decades.
smaller size pizza for $1.
SELL
YOUR
BOOKS
Not long ago, some thought Venus
was a kind of tropical paradise, or
perhaps a place with oceans of bub
bling petroleum or vast seas teeming
with life.
VALID THRU DEC. 5
PIZZA INN OF COLLEGE STATION
113 S. TEXAS
UNIVERSITY
BOOKSTORE
CULPEPPER PLAZA
Early misconceptions of Venus
were easy because its surface is hid
den behind a mask of murky atmo
sphere.
Records of Venus observations
date back to the Assyrian civilization
of 600 B. C. But man did not even
know Venus had an atmosphere until
Russian astronomer Mikhail Lo
monosov made that discovery in
1761.
Venus continued to be the prov-*
ince of astronomers using Earth-
bound instruments until an Ameri
can spacecraft called Mariner 2 flew
within 21,600 miles of the planet in
1962. Its instruments confirmed
what astronomers were beginning to
suspect — that Venus was very hot
with a very dense and dry atmo
sphere.
Eleven spacecraft have since ex-
E lored Venus, including four Soviet
inding craft that radioed data back
from the Venusian surface. The last
two, Veneras 9 and 10, transmitted
the first photos from the surface in
1975.
It is now known that Venus’ sur
face temperature is at least 900 de
grees Fahrenheit and its atmosphere
is 100 times thicker than Earth’s.
Carbon dioxide is the dominant
gas in the Venusian atmosphere, ap
parently making up 97 percent of its
composition. There are traces of
water, carbon monoxide, hy
drochloric acid and hydrogen
fluoride.
SIGN UP
For The
NOW
u Study
The Russian Influenza Study needs 3,000student volunteers for the
2nd part of a flu vaccination program. Benefits Include: A) Making be
tween $50-$70, B) Immunization against the Russian Flu at no cost, and
C) Special priority In the Health Center. Sign up and start the program
by going by: "
Monday & Tuesday
Health Center, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
MSC - 141, 9La.m.-5 p.m.
Corps Lounge Df7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
Wednesday & Thursday
Health Center, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Commons Lounge, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Common Lounge, 7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
The rotation of Venus is very slow
and opposite to the direction of the
planet’s revolution about the sun.
The length of a solar day on Venus is
equal to 117 Earth days.
On the side of the planet facing
Earth, radar astronomers have map
ped an area as large as Asia and have
found what appears to be a rugged
surface with huge shallow craters
and an enormous volcano-like struc
ture.
The six American craft due to
reach Venus Dec. 4 and Dec. 9 will
concentrate on the Venusian atmo
sphere. Dm* Pioneer Venus 1, will
orbit Venus for a year to return daily
pictures of its cloud circulation and
make radar maps of its surface. Five
components of what originally was
one Pioneer Venus 2 craft will dive
into the planet’s atmosphere, with
four making top to bottom mea
surements.
The two Soviet spacecraft
scheduled to get there later in De
cember will attempt landings and
surface studies, presumably to radio
back more photos of the planet's
rocky surface.
The key question that American
and Russian scientists hope their
probes will help answer is why does
Venus differ so much from Earth
when its size, mass and location
suggest it might be Earth’s twin?
Of more pragmatic importance,
could Earth’s clhhate evolve into one
similar to Venus’ someday?
INTERESTED IN
POETRY?
PROSE?
ARTWORK?
PHOTOGRAPHY?
LAYOUT?
P.R.?
THEN COME JOIN
MOEBIUS
THE TEXAS A&M STUDENT
LITERARY MAGAZINE
1ST MEETING: WEDNESDAY ~ NOV. 29
7:30 P.M.
RMS. 305 A&B
RUDDER TOWER
SPONSORED BY MSC ARTS
COMMITTEE
UFOs seen in Grenada
Tiny nation asks U.N. aid
United Press International
UNITED NATIONS — Living
in Grenada, a tiny nation most
people couldn’t spot on a map,
gives one a sense of proportion.
There’s got to be something more
to the world.
The prime minister of the 133-
square-mile state sees Earth as
the Grenada of the universe, and
is sure we have cosmic neighbors
we’ve never met.
And so. Sir Eric Gairy went be
fore the United Nations
Monday to suggest it become the
worldwide clearing house for re
ports of unidentified flying ob
jects.
Gairy says he is convinced
aliens from far-off worlds are try
ing as fervently to find earthlings
as we are to contact them.
“I think their message is a posi
tive and friendly and a godly
one,” says Gairy, a self-proclaim
ed ‘ ‘mystic” who has been trying
in vain since 1975 to get the
United Nations to pay attention
to UFOs.
Apparently unruffled by the
cool reception he got in the past.
Sir Eric launched into a discourse
on his favorite topic, backed up
by slides and films of UFO sight
ings.
Then he asked for permission
to add three UFO experts to the
staff of the Committee for the
Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
The resolution as presented
could not really embarrass any
government at this time,” Gairy
UFOs ‘escape’
fire of Mexican
police officers
United Press International
GUADALAJARA, Mexico —
Two objects described as lumin
ous flying saucers were reported
by residents and a police officer
near Guadalajara, authorities said
Monday.
Authorities said one of the un
identified flying objects hovered
about 30 feet over the patrol car of
policeman Francisco Diaz Cortes
and emitted a red light that
turned on the car’s siren and
made it spin around.
The policeman said the UFO
then descended rapidly behind
some nearby hills and when he
gave chase he found another fly
ing object.
The police said they fired on
the UFOs, both of which took off
after rapidly emitting red light.
Neither apparently was hit by the
shots.
said, noting he merely wanted| 0
establish a central agency to L|
with UFO reports.
Dr. J. Allen Hynek, director 0 (
the Center fo r UFO Studies, j
group of scientists, said an o r .
ganized collection of material or,
unexplained aerial phenomenajj
vital.
Hynek, a professor emeritusrj
astronomy at Northwestern Uni.
versity, took a careful, academit
approach to the problem. Bui
Gairy took a more personal ap.
proach to the subject.
Tlie flamboyant prime ministei
said he believes UFOs art
spaceships, populated by being
who want to "instill mankindanij
Earth with a better way of life
“I have an interest in thetnyj
tical side of life, Gairy told re.
porters. "That has motivated me
to think that the planet Eartl
could not be all of Cod s domain'
■'I’m connected with nearlyev-
erthing that is esoteric,’’he said
The prime minister told re
porters he has had two personal
UFO experiences, both in Cre
nada. The first sighting cam
about three years ago, at2j|
a.m. as he was returning horn
from a nightclub, he said, andlit
has !>een a believer ever since I
“I was attracted by the tie I
mendous speed and brilliance^
the object, he said.
ROAD
Rud
BONFl
field
CONC
Mat
SENIC
[ due
1AMU
l Lam
Hall
RAHA’
Roo
BASKE
J Tou
CEPH1
I lette
THIS IS IT
MSC CAMERA COMMITTEE
BONFIRE PHOTOGRAPHS
NO SC
DEAD
is to
dara
infor
SENI0
fENN]
Wic
&CGIE
who
excu
and
ml
Unit)
fASHII
STILL
AFTER NOV. 30
rcomr
fy and
Ited the
8x10 *2 50
11x14 , 7 00
16x20 *15 00
8x10
11x14
16x20
Gift Giving Books
at Vs to Vz Publishers
List Price!
0
A A A * * A A A *%****#**<<■** -l #* * *
* ••
»a* w i r
t
* -s r * ^
TEXAS A&M
In the Memorial Student Center
i