314 ANTSrUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1961 



clearly the position and time of the sighted object, were not familiar 

 with the use of ^VIW time signals, and showed a certain amount of 

 observing strain — that is, after 10 or 15 minutes the eyes of the observ- 

 ers proved to be considerably fatigued and to lose efficiency. 



Meanwhile, teams were being formed abroad. At the September 

 IGY conference in Barcelona, each participating country was asked 

 to appoint a coordinator for satellite observations. Later the Inter- 

 national Astronautical Federation meeting in Rome, Italy, volun- 

 teered its cooperation and facilities in establishing Moonwatch stations 

 in many countries throughout the world. 



More than a dozen teams were organized in South America. When 

 Dr. Hynek visited countries there in his search for sites for the Baker- 

 Nunn stations, he also publicized the purpose of, and the need for, 

 Moonwatch teams. In Chile he met Father German Saa, Dr. Heil- 

 maier, and Dr. Ruttlant, all of whom were interested in organizing 

 Moonwatch teams. In Argentina he traveled with Teofilo Tabanera, 

 president of the Argentine Astronautical Federation, who now offered 

 his services in organizing teams. Sr. Tabanera also translated the 

 Bulletin for Visual Observers into Spanish and circulated it through- 

 out the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America. 



Of the foreign teams, however, none was more numerous and none 

 more enthusiastic than those in Japan. By the summer of 1957 some 

 25 Moonwatch teams had been organized there, and Dr. Masasi Mi- 

 yadi, director of the Tokyo Astronomical Observatory, had been 

 appointed tracking coordinator of the Japanese IGY committee. He 

 in turn enlisted the cooperation of the Astronomical Society of Japan, 

 the Oriental Astronomical Association, the Japan Astronomical Study 

 Association, and the Ikomason Astronomical Society. While the 

 teams were led by experienced amateur and semiprofessional astrono- 

 mers, most of the members were college and high-school students. 



There were at least two reasons for the popularity and success of 

 Moonwatch in Japan. The Japanese are especially interested in 

 things scientific, particularly and traditionally those involving the 

 use of lenses. Also, three of the large newspaper chains in Japan 

 gave the Moonwatch program a vast amount of publicity, helped to 

 find sites, and even equipped some of the teams. Eventually more 

 than 80 teams were organized there. 



On July 19, 1957, during the evening twilight, a second national 

 alert involving approximately 80 Moonwatch teams in the United 

 States was held. Simulated satellites were towed by airplanes of 

 the Civil Air Patrol. As before, the stations phoned their reports 

 to Cambridge. The alert showed a marked improvement in the op- 

 erational techniques of the teams. 



By early October 1957 Moonwatch teams had been organized in the 

 following countries: Argentina (10 teams) ; Australia (5) ; Belgian 



