Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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KOHO BY MARK MORROW Heralded as the "comet of the century" in November, the comet Kohoutek turned out to be somewhat of a major disappointment to those who awoke at early morning hours for the show. Predictions were that by mid-November the comet would be visible to the naked eye and by Christmas it would be the most dazzling object of the evening sky. By mid-December predictions followed that the comet would become even more brilliantthan Haley's comet of 1910, covering one-sixth of the sky in the hours just after sunset. SLcond Coming" Inspired, some groups of comet watchers predicted that Kohoutec was a sign of the "second coming" and would mark the end of time. Groups of people dressed for the occasion in the ap propriate sackcloth and ashes while parading around American cities calling for repentance; but in the end, no "second coming" and no dazzling comet show. The reason Kohoutek, failed to put on the show that everyone expected, ac cording to John L. Safko of the USC astronomy depart ment, was that instead of the comet being a "dirty snowball" like Haley or Bennett's comets, Kohoutek turned out to be a blue-white comet with a gaseous tail which had little ability to reflect sunlight. In a "dirty snowball" comet the par ticles of frozen matter in the head thaw out sending particles of dust falling back 500 ROOM SIG HUNDREDS AND STYLI TO CHOOSE COLUMBIA in 2738 Devir UTEK... to create the tailwhichretnect sunlight, giving off brilliant bands of orange and yellow, Safko said. Skylab Has Good View Safko said he was disap pointed with (he comet's performance but not with the information gained on the nature and behavior of comets. According to Safko, a great deal of information is still aboard with the Skylab astronauts, because they were able to view the comet without interference from the I . . . . ..i. ..t . . ,et( **t . r ..ANROTC student takes ad January temperatures to si behind McKissick Librai o Off E CARPETS OF COLORS BS AND COLORS FROM. CARPETS ,INC. ie St. 253-6917. Comet of C earth's atmosphere. However, if those on earth were lucky enough to be in New Mexico, Safko said, it was possible to see both Kohoutek and its tail without the aid of a telescope. USC scientists did manage to record running measurements on the position of the comet but plans to take light readings and other tests were prevented by bad weather, according to Safko. Aside from poor weather, the city lights caused a haze on the vantage of unusually warm op and observe thie view ry Thursday afternoon. P4NDE TUES]~ - vantage unsalln wrm op ndotbre eie TrdyaTernoEon.O 548NXPBS TD Hi.H TUEERRSA entury ProvidE telescope wich made viewing even more difficult. Safko said the telescope should have been more to the north of Columbia, for better viewing conditions of Kohoutek. "No Typical Statements" However, science was not at a complete loss of discovery in the Kohoutek affair. One of the most im portant things science learned, Safko said, was "that it taught us not to make typical statements about things when they are Women's. Changes D BY MER RY BATEMAN The USC Board of Trustees has voted to place women's intercollegiate sports under the supervision and review of the USC Athletic Department. Approved at the January 5 Board meeting, South Carolina has fielded teams in several women's sports for a number of years but the program was administered under student affairs and independent of the athletic department. HUelen M. Timmermans, assistant professor of physical education, has been named the Director of Athletics for Women's Sports. As Director, Timmermans will be in charge of the appointment of coaches, scheduling and other ad ministrative tasks. USC is a member of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, the women's equivalent of the National Collegiate Athletic Association which governs MB5A D~AY CL OSI NG NIGHT $1.6 with student I.D. ith Baked Potato or FF, CAT TION.C R IV E. Cayce inst off 1-26 s Poor Show anything but typical." Waiting for Haley After Kohoutek rounds the sun, it will not return to the earth for another 75,000 years. However, science awaits a real comet show in 1986 when Haley's comet returns to earth for an encore of it's 1910 performance. It may be, then, that science and everyone else gets a chance to study or just have a look at what generations past have called "a sure sign from the gods." Athletics ?partments men's athletics. Women's competition at Carolina is involved in seven sports: gymnastics, basket ball, volleyball, softball, tennis, swim ming and golf. The program is funded from $14,000 appropriated from student allocation fees. Harold B. Hagan, interim director of women's athletics and administrative assistant to Athletic Director Paul F. Dietzel, said, "Wome will have consideration for all aspects of the program, except scholarships." Hagan foresees funding for women in s ports in the near future at Carolina. He said Carolina is moving at a progressive pace in this area. Hagan said he knows of no regional schools offering women's scholarships. One of the few universities to establish an athletic scholarhip for women is the University of Chicago. Criteria for sports to be included in the women's program include sufficient student interest and potential for participation in regional and national championships. 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