CANOE TRIPS IN WILDERNESS NOVA SCOTIA, July- 
September. Small groups with licensed guides. Ex- 
cellent food. Write: Granville Nickerson, RR#4N, An- 
napolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Canada BOS 1AO 
CANOE WILD MAINE— Learn woods skills and natural 
history while canoeing northern Maine. Individuals, fam- 
ilies, and conservation organizations welcome. Special 
courses with colleges North Woods Ways, Box 34, 
Salisbury Cove, ME 04672 
CHINA— Art, Archaeology tour— eight cities— top ac- 
commodations July 30 - 28 days Experienced artist/ 
educator leader. (914) 359-6206 
GALAPAGOS /ECUADOR /PERU Economic guided 
tours from $1459 8 to 15 days Galapagos, all meals 
Weekly departures. Options: Quito, Amazon, 
Cuzco/Machu Picchu. University credit available. De- 
tails: J.A. Colley, LAST, Inc., 43 Milestone Road, 
Randallstown, MD 21133 (301) 922-3116 
GALAPAGOS EXPEDITION, July 11, 1981, 20 days, 
$1990 plus air. Blue Sky Adventures, Dept. NH3 Oak 
Ridge, NJ 07438 
HIKE THE SWISS ALPS Swissair flies you to special 
hiking tours, led by popular author/mountaineer Fred 
Jacobson. Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Lenk, Kandersteg, 
Pontresina. Beautiful and challenging trails Delightful 
country inns. Superb cuisine. 9th summer! Write Fred 
Jacobson, Depth. NH3, Chappaqua Travel, 24 S 
Greeley Avenue, Chappaqua, NY 10514 
HIMALAYAN ADVENTURE TREKS— Rammel Expedi- 
tions, Box 183, Tetonia, Idaho 83452 Enthusiastic 
Rammel trekkers will describe our quality trips on 
request. Write for reference list and information 
HIMALAYAN TRAVEL, INC. Trekking expeditions in 
the Everest and Annapurna areas of Nepal. Exotic 
cultures/spectacular mountain scenery. Box 481-NH, 
Greenwich, CT 06830 Toll Free (800) 243-5330 
INTERNATIONAL NATURE & TREKKING TOURS. Ga- 
lapagos, Peru, Nepal, Ecuador, Alaska, Tanzania, Ken- 
ya, Patagonia, Falkland Islands, Costa Rica, Gua- 
temala and more. Expert leaders. Very small groups 
Write: Wilderness Travel (formerly South American 
Wilderness Adventures), 1760-NH Solano Avenue, 
Berkeley, CA 94707 
LOW-IMPACT WILDERNESS SKILLS and natural sci- 
ences. 2-14 day backpacking courses for all ages 
in Maine, Yellowstone, and Canyonlands. No expe- 
rience required. East /West Wilderness School, RFD 
3, Hebron, ME 04238 
MAGIC BOLIVIA: Spectacular nature, legendary cul- 
tures, unadulterated by mass tourism. Unhurried trav- 
eling, fantastic photography, reasonable prices. Com- 
binable with Peru (Cuzco, Machu-Picchu, etc.) Forum 
Travel International, 2437 Durant, Berkeley, CA 94704 
(415) 843-8294 
MEXICAN & CENTRAL EXPEDITIONS by Wayne Hus- 
sing, 11120 Raphel Road, Upper Falls, MD 21156 
(301) 592-7247 — White Water Rafting — Volcanic 
Climbs— Backpacking— Jungle Exploration— Over- 
land Drives, Oct- July 
NATURALIST GUIDED FIELD SEMINARS and tours, 
West Texas and Mexico Rafting, hiking, backpacking, 
bus. University or Continuing Education credit as ap- 
propriate Write Education Department, Chihuahuan 
Desert Research Institute, Box 1334, Alpine, TX 79830 
NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY field work and instruction: 
adventure vacations to remote areas throughout the 
West Rafting, horsepacking and hiking with profes- 
sional guide /instructors. Brochure: The Natural Image, 
P.O. Box 45, Winthrop. WA 98862 
OAXACA, MEXICO. Unique historical /cultural tour 
Festivals; pre-Hispamc art; Mixtec, Zapotec civiliza- 
tions Oaxaca Club (415) 388-3503 
OPEN DOOR Alaskan Water Adventures. Kayaking, 
Rafting, Birding in Prince William Sound and Copper 
River Basin. Box 1185N, Cordova AK 99574 (907) 
424-7466 
ORIENTAL ECLIPSE EXPRESS China— Mongolia— Si- 
beria. Hong Kong, Nanking, Sian, Peking, Ulan Bator, 
Lake Baikal, Irkutsk, and Bratsk View 31 July 1981 
Solar Eclipse. 21 days-$3595 Baylis-Todd Eclipse 
Tour, Claremont Hotel, Berkeley, CA 94705 (415) 
849-4333 
PERU: Andean Archaeological trek along Inca Trail 
to Machu Picchu. August - Two weeks Small group 
Budget - $985 Write High Country Passage, Box 
1100-NH, Hamilton, Montana 59840 (406) 363-2555 
SAIL PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND: Guided flotilla cruises 
Lessons available Whale observation Nature Study 
College credit. Alaskan Wilderness Sailing Safaris, Box 
701N, Whittier, Alaska 99693 (907) 277-0160 
SCOTLAND, ORKNEY, SHETLAND AND ICELAND 
Comprehensive program of nature trips Write Cal- 
edonian Wildlife at McGregor Travel, 33 Lewis Street, 
Greenwich, CT 06830, or toll-free (800) 243-5330 
SMOKY MOUNTAIN FIELD SCHOOL Intensive 5-day 
and 2-day field workshops in the Great Smoky Moun- 
tains National Park Includes Wild Mammals, Birds, 
Natural History, and many more Co-sponsored by 
Smoky Mountains National Park and University of Ten- 
nessee Continuing Education Division, 2016 Lake Ave- 
nue, Knoxville, TN 37916 (615) 974-6688 
SUMMER IN YELLOWSTONE Join us in Yellowstone 
National Park for field seminars on wildlife, geology, 
plants, art, photography, history, etc Accomodations 
at Park Service facility. Academic credit available 
The Yellowstone Institute, P.O. Box 515, Yellowstone 
National Park, Wyoming 82190 
TRAVELEARN, SUMMER 1981 Cultural-natural his- 
torical tours to Africa, Hawaii, China, and Greece 
led by specialists in the fields of study encompassed 
within each program Office of International Studies, 
Kean College of NJ, Morris Avenue, Union, NJ 07083 
—Phone (201) 527-2461 
WASHINGTON WILDFLOWER SAFARIS to Cascades 
and Olympics with professional naturalist. Brad's 
Tours, 401 E Mercer #31D, Seattle, WA 98102 
WILDERNESS TRAILS IDAHO Backpacking, Ski-tour- 
ing, and Bicycle-touring. Come adventure and learn 
with us. Trips for all abilities, everything provided 
We have thirteen years experience and guide only 
in Idaho. Write: P.O Box 9252 M, Moscow, Idaho 
83843 (208) 882-1955 
WYOMING RANCH VACATION. The West's finest 
family ranch, famous for over eighty years. Spec- 
tacular scenery. Great food, fishing, riding, relaxing. 
Dr. Oakleigh Thorne, II, resident naturalist. Call collect 
or write Valley Ranch, Southfork N, Cody, Wyoming 
82414 (307) 587-4661 
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required for clarity. Thank you! 
A Near Miss 
Almost a decade ago, a large 
meteoroid came within thirty- 
six miles of the earth. The same 
meteoroid is expected back in 
1997, when if all goes well, it 
will come no closer 
by Stephen P. Maran 
A brilliant object, apparently trail- 
ing smoke, streaked northward across 
the sunny sky in August 1972, shat- 
tering the lazy summer afternoon from 
Utah north to Alberta, Canada. In 
some places, startled observers also 
heard sonic booms and called the po- 
lice to report an aircraft in distress. 
Among the observers, however, were 
several amateur astronomers and, by 
rare luck, a vacationing expert on me- 
teor physics. These spectators imme- 
diately realized that they were wit- 
nessing one of the rarest of meteoric 
phenomena — a daylight fireball. 
Only later, when many firsthand ac- 
counts were compared, did the expert, 
Luigi G. Jacchia of the Center for 
Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massa- 
chusetts, realize that he had seen an 
event unique in recorded history: the 
earth had been “buzzed” by a large 
meteoroid that neither crashed to the 
ground nor broke up in the atmos- 
phere, but actually escaped back into 
space. Recent calculations show that 
the August 10, 1972, meteoroid is 
coming back and that it will pass the 
earth again in 1997, with only a slight 
chance of hitting our. planet the second 
time around. 
Meteoroids are chunks of rock and 
iron that move through space in orbits 
around the sun. If they reach the 
earth’s surface, they are termed me- 
teorites. The flash of light produced 
as a meteoroid streaks through the 
lower atmosphere is known as a me- 
98 
