davidl@orca.UUCP (David Levine) (08/11/83)
Heard last night on the TV (channel 12 in Portland, OR) in reference to the recent discovery by the IRAS satellite of what is very likely a solar system in the process of forming around Vega: "Astrologists (sic) have known about the star Veega (sic) for thousands of years... ... discovered by the satellite IRIS (sic) ... If this is true, astronomers will have to re-write their textbooks." The film reporter consistently pronounced the name of the star with a long E and referred to the discovering satellite as IRIS. Once the film piece was over, the local anchorpersons went on to say that what with Star Trek and all it was a wonder they hadn't discovered this before... If this is the sort of stuff we're broadcasting to the stars, no wonder they haven't replied! -- David D. Levine (...decvax!tektronix!tekecs!davidl) [UUCP] (...tekecs!davidl.tektronix@rand-relay) [ARPA] (We must drive ignorance about science from the four corners of the Earth!)