Meteor Research Boosted By Mobile Observatories

Harvard's photographic "observatories on wheels," the first of their kind, have begun to pay off with new scientific theories described yesterday by Associate Professor Fred L. Whipple of the College Observatory.

Now stationed in New Mexico, these mobile observatories are the first to be used for photographic research on the behavior of meteors. Precision astronomical data obtained by the expedition yielded new information on atmospheric densities and temperatures, confirming some theories and finding others inaccurate.

Results of the meteor research are also being correlated with V-2 rocket studies. Whipple expects further work to reveal new data on the upper level of the earth's atmosphere which figures in radio communications and the world's climate.

Used Surplus Vehicles

The observatories, known locally as "Whipple's Wagon Train," set out from Cambridge in August mounted on surplus government trucks and trailers. Although meteor photographing can be successful only on nights when the moon to darkened, hundreds of photographic plates have been exposed in the last five months.