Astronomer Harlow Shapley, director of famed Harvard Observatory, last week looked back instead of up. Shapley's choice of the top ten astronomical developments of the past year included:
¶ Calculation of the orbit of the asteroid Eros by Dr. Eugene Rabe of the University of Cincinnati Observatory. This led to the discovery that the earth is 1/10th of 1% nearer the sun than previous calculations had placed it (92.9 million miles).
¶ The number of known "radio stars" was about tripled (to 50), mostly the result of work by Australian and British electronics scientists. These unseen celestial objects, which radiate on...