''Quiet days, no important events." This horoscope for Zurich, published by the weekly tourist bulletin, was only half right. The days were quiet enough for the 350 stargazers of the International Astronomers' Union, who met last week for the first time since 1938. But after eight days, some of their conclusions had become important mileposts in man's continuing search to find out more about his universe.
Astronomers from 31 nations attended (the Russians arrived late, but they made it).
The major achievement of the conference was a highly technical "Symposium on Chemical Abundances in the Universe." The astronomers presented further evidence on a...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
