Evening star., 1953-06-24
Navy to Explore Deeps
Of Northern Pacific
Expedition to Survey
Secs Abysmol Trenches
By Thomos R. Henry

A vast unknown" area of the north
ern Pacific between Bering Sea and
Northern Japan will be explored this
summer by q Navy-SponSored expedi-
ton.
This region is unknown in the sense
that there is very little scientific infor.
nation about the contour of the sea
bottom and the currents and cross
currents. Such information now exists
for most Of the rest Of the Pacific basin.
Previous expeditions engaged in the
same general exploration program have
found vast underSea mountain ranges
and abysmal trenches the existence of
which hadsnot hitherto been suspected.
This exploration will be carried out
by the Scripps Institution of Ocean,
ography Of the University of California
with the sponsorship of the Office of
Naval Research. It will be the fifth
such expedition since 1850.
First study will be made Of the
western edge of the California Current.
the great, sluggish ocean stream that
is major factor in the climate of the
West Coast. The exploring ship Baird
then will investigate Bogoslof Island, a
curious disappearing volcano in Bering
Sea, before striking into the unknown
area.
In addition to exploration of the sea
bottom, large collections of fish and
other marine organisms will be made to
determine to what extent these creatures
are confined to certain localities. APP
parently many Of them are insepa-
rably linked to certain large water
masses by forces which biologists do not
understand.
South of Japan the expedition will
explore the so-called Ramapo Deep
where, it is expected, some of the deep
est spots in the ocean may be found.
Earth's Tail Found.
The earth has tail.
This discovery is claimed by Soviet
astronomers and given considerable
credence by Nature. official journal Of
the British Association. for the Advance
ment of Science. It is pointed out that
the men who describe the new-found
caudal appendage of this planet are
thoroughly reliable and had excep-
tional opportunities for observation
from the central Asian desert.
The two astronomers, FeSenkov and
Astapovich, were making an intensive
study of the so-called "gegenschein."
This is glow" which, under excep-
tional conditions, can be seen in the sky
lust opposite the sun two or three
hours before sunrise or after sunset.
This gegenschein is quite small IN
diameter, seldom is seen, and is very
difficult to observe. Its light is reflected
sunlight.
The Russian astronomers find the
glow is variable in shape and intensity
and interpret it as an extremely tenu-
Gus film of gas, in the form of hollow
sleeve, which is pulled of from the ex-
treme upper atmosphere on the twl-
light side of the earth. The phenome-
non is much the same as that OF the
tail of a comet.
A new observation is that when this
eegenschein descends toward the west
there appears a broad pyramid OF
fainter lumineScence connecting 1t with
the horizon It is confined to the west.
ern side of the night sky.
Hitherto the faint patch Of luminos-
ity has been interpreted as concentra-
ton of gas particles far beyond the
earths atmosphere moving around the
sun like a minor planet and with no
association with the earth. The demon
stration that it is continuous with the
atmosphere presents quite a different
picture.
The tall" it is calculated, extends
outward into space distance of about
20 times the radius of the earth.