A Letter From The Publisher, Dec. 17, 1973

This week's Science story explores the vibrations in inner as well as outer space as Comet Kohoutek enters earth's solar system. "This is a sociohysteric happening," notes Associate Editor Frederic Golden, who wrote the story. "Astronomers are running around trying to get their equipment ready for observations, and the rest of us are excited by dramatic notions of what comets mean, especially during times of crisis." A former correspondent and editor for the Associated Press, Golden began writing science stories for TIME in the same way that Czech-born Astronomer Lubos Kohoutek discovered his celestial namesake — that is, unintentionally. After three...