Word: tails
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...continued to function, the astronauts had a steady platform in the sky; they made good use of it by photographing everything from simmering volcanoes on earth to giant storms on the sun and the ever-brightening comet Kohoutek. During their observations of Kohoutek, they have watched its tail double in length to more than 10 million miles. The science also had some light moments. In a radio conversation with his wife, Carr told her that some of the gypsy moth larvae that the crew had carried into space had finally hatched. "Good, you are a father again," replied the mother...
Devil By The Tail 8:15; weekend...
Despite all that has been learned about the dynamics of a comet's tail, its shape cannot be accurately predicted. In the late 18th century, DeCheseaux's comet sprouted seven distinct tails that fanned out peacock-like. Some comets do not develop tails at all. As of last week, however, Kohoutek was developing a classic appendage, which should continue to increase in length and grandeur until the comet comes close to the sun. Most comets survive this relatively close flyby of the sun and emerge, sometimes altered in appearance, with even more brilliant tails. Others, affected...
...those echoes may tell scientists more about the size and character of the nucleus). M.I.T.'s Haystack Radio Observatory will try a similar experiment in reverse: it will study radio waves from a far-off radio source (possibly a quasar) after they pass through the comet's tail, in hopes of finding the spectral "signatures" of water or ammonia. If they succeed, the M.I.T. astronomers will have gone a long way toward confirming Whipple's icy-snowball theory...
...OSO7 (for Orbiting Solar Observatory). The Venus-and Mercury-bound Mariner 10 may be used to take high-resolution TV pictures of the comet, while either Pioneer 6 or Pioneer 8, both of which are orbiting the sun, try to determine the density of the comet's tail by probing it with radio signals...