CENSORSHIP FORMS DIFFICULTY FOR OBSERVATORY MESSAGES

Harlow Shapley, Piano Professor of Practical Astronomy and director of the Harvard Observatory, revealed today the censorship troubles experienced by astronomers. Radio and telegraph messages must be carefully worded to avoid any appearance of hidden or subversive meaning.

In reference to the communications between Cambridge and the big Harvard observatory at Bloomfontein, South Africa, Shapley emphasized the fact that the astronomers must take great care with the language of their radio messages.

"The censors would not like a brief and effective message such as 'Nova explosion Puppis shoot nightly using whole battery' followed by positional numbers and the word 'urgent.' That sounds subversive. The equivalent 'Make systematic observations of bright new star in constellation Puppis near star Zeta using all telescopes' is satisfactory and expensive."

Despite the hindrances of the war and various censorships, Shapley mentioned, telegraphic communications during the year have reported astronomical work from Russia, Finland, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Rumania, Demnark, and Argentina. Cablegrams to Europe are sent through the observatory at Lund, Sweden.

The observatory's work is moving at the slowest rate in 20 years since 32 members of the staff are occupied full time in war service. The making of photographs of the sun, stars, nebulae, and galaxies is maintained at a rate of 80 per cent of normal, however. Several thousand photographs a year are made at the stations in Cambridge, Oak Ridge, and Bloomfontein.