The ‘Silent Service' In a small room of an aircraft plant in Inglewood, Calif., soldiers of science, dressed in heavy leather suits and insu lated helmets, endure a temperature of 98 degrees below zero as they keep America ahead of her enemies in aviation development. This room is an indoor “cold front” where men are fighting the mysteries of the stratosphere. In aerial combat, height is as important as firepower and speed. Fighters that can climb higher than their op ponents have the advantage. Bombers with the highest ceiling can operate far above antiaircraft range. But high altitudes with their extremely low temperatures do strange things to planes and passen gers. These temperatures are brought to earth in the indoor “cold front. Top: Engineers tvalk to the cold chamber. Left: At work in the chamber. Above: Oil is tested after re moval from the cold room. At temperatures lower than 40 de grees below zero lubricating oil congeals. If charged with oxy gen it can be kept flowing. Right: The air inside these helmets is warmed in tubes before it is in haled. But workers can stay in the chamber only 10 minutes. ®t)e i&tar Cfyat ^>f)one ®'tt JJetfjlefjem « I OTtU Jf oretoer JPe a Jftpsterp to Science Could It Have Been A Comet, a Group of Planets, or a Nova? By ELLIOTT PINE &'oto toben Jesus toas born in JBetbicbem of Jubea in tbe baps of fterob tbe king, bebolb there came toise men from the € ast to Jerusalem, feaping, JSfihere is be that is born iking of tbe Jcto»? Jfor toe babe seen bis star in the east, anb are come to toorsbip bint. IBben foerob tbe king bab bearb these things, be toas troubleb, anb all Jerusalem toitb bint. • • • • • (Then it)erob, toben be bab pribilp calleb tbe toise men, inquireb of them biligentlp totjat time tbe star appeareb. • • • • • IBben tbep bab bearb tbe king, tbep beparteb; anb lo, tbe star, tobicb tbep sato in ttje east, toent before them, till it stoob ober tbe spot tobere tbe poung djilb toas. IBben tbep sato tbe star, ttjep rejoiceb toitb exceebing great jop. -^Hattbeto 2:2-10 ta THE Star! Matthew calmly re cords the appearance of this marvelous heavenly portent as a his torical fact. For 1900 years many millions have believed that the ma jestic and unimaginably beautiful herald of the Messiah actually shone over Bethlehem, casting a beam of effulgent glory on that sta ble "where the young child was.” It has seemed entirely fitting that the birthplace of Christ should be pointed out in so magnificent a man ner. Few laymen ever thought of questioning the reality of that star, although nothing like it ever was known before or after the momen tous event. But astronomers, being exact scientists, have tried to recon cile the evangelist’s words with the known facts on the nature and mo tions of heavenly bodies. The other three Gospels, by the way, do not mention the star. In the 17th century, Johann Kep ler, one of the greatest of the early astronomers, while calculating the orbits of the planets Jupiter, Saturn and Mars, extended his figures back to the time of Christ. He discovered that these three planets were in con junction in the year 7 B. C., accord ing to the calendar. Making al lowance for the well known error in dating the year of Christ's birth, it was possible to call the year 7 of our era as actually the year in which Christ was born. Now if, as Kepler calculated, the three planets were very close together in that year, they would form a brilliant glow in the sky, during the month of December. So, Kepler reasoned, the conjunction of these planets was the Star of Bethlehem. In Sign of Pisces. This conjunction appears in the sign of Pisces, or the Fishes, every 800 years. Since the sign of Pisces had a special meaning to the Jews, it was entirely logical for the Magi to interpret an apparently new star within this sign as the long awaited I Springs are tested to see if in• tense cold makes them brittle. Engineers check the hydraulic system of a plane before putting it into the cold chamber. Inset: They communicate with cold chamber workers by telephone to check on a test. WE THREE KINGS OF ORIENT ARE—An I8th century “presepio” by many authorities considered the finest example of this sort of art, presents the well-known Nativity scene. The perfection of the painted figures is remarkable. In the background, through the end of the gable, can be seen the miraculous Star. - ----- --— A CHRISTMAS CAROL There’s a song in the air! There’s a star in the sky! There’s a mother’s deep prayer And a baby’s low cry! And the star rains its fire while the Beautiful sing. For the manger of Bethlehem cra dles a king. In the light of that star Lies the ages impearled; And that song from afar Has swept over the world. Every hearth is aflame, and the Beautiful sing In the homes of the nations that Jesus is King. We rejoice in the light, And we echo the song That comes down through the night From the heavenly throng. Ay! we shout to the lovely evangel they bring, And we greet in his cradle our Saviour and King! —JOSIAII GILBERT HOLLAND. messenger from heaven, and to start on the long journey. Kepler's theory satisfied pretty well until 1820, when Professor Ideler of Berlin pointed out that at no time are the three planets in absolute con junction so that they would appear as a single star, even to the naked eye. Another piece of evidence tending to cast doubt on the Kepler theory was brought in by the geographers. They showed that there were no roads or trails through the mountain ous regions that the wise men had to traverse on which they could keep the planets in sight for any length of time. So this attractive explana tion gradually faded out. It will not be until early in the 25th century, however, that scientists can test the full possibilities of Kepler’s conjec ture. It is not entirely ruled out until this time comes. Perhaps a Comet. In the last century came a new attempt to explain the Star. Prof. R. A. Proctor propounded the theory WAS IT A COMET?—Theory that the Star of Bethlehem might have been a comet was advanced in the 19th century. This photo, taken in 1940, shows Cunningham's Comet. that the mystic sign was really a comet. These celestial travelers of space, flaring up suddenly, moving across the sky often for days or weeks, and then disappearing, al ways impressed the ancients as mighty portents. There are a few flaws in this the ory, too, as several historians quick ly declared. First, a comet was a fearful thing to all peoples of an tiquity, a harbinger of evil to come, a warning of retribution for sin. The Magi, being learned in astrolo gy, would know this, of course, and would nqt likely consider a comet an announcement of the Saviour's arrival. It is possible that these wise men did not follow the prevailing superstition. They might have called some comet his star. It is object ed, however, that any comet bright enough to attract the wise men’s at tention would be noted down in some secular history—Josephus, in partic ular. There is no such confirma tory account. The Nova Theory. Lately, a plausible and poetic the ory has been presented. The Star of Bethlehem may have been a "nova” or suddenly blazing star. For a brief time a nova may outshine every star in the sky. The most brilliant on record flared up in 1572. Another was observed by the afore mentioned Kepler, and by Galileo, in 1604. Novae that can be seen by the human eye are rare. It is only since photography has been applied to astronomy that much is known about them. What causes the flam ing phenomenon is not known, but possibly it is occasioned by the col lision of two "dead” stars. The im pact liberates the fiery interiors of the two bodies, and the seething gases swirl and shoot in a glorious display of light. The nova may burn for some time, but eventually it cools and fades, and generally dis • -if I » ->fti -i I Jr.;' acre. ’ appears from sight. Seldom do they 1 last more than a few days. So if a nova of extraordinary bril liance did burst forth a few days or weeks before the birth of Christ, this could be the Star toward which the wise men hurried, so long ago. It must be remembered, however, that the nova, if such it was, actually had burned out long before the first Christmas eve, because most of the stars are so distant that light takes many years to travel from them to the earth. Only lately the Nova Her culis has been seen, but its light has been traveling through space for 1300 years, at 186,000 miles a second. Learned Guesses. But these conjectures and scien tific guesses are simply that— guesses. No one knows just what the Christmas Star was, or how it directed the wise men from the east to the little town of Bethlehem. It may be that, since there were proph ecies to guide the Magi to that vil lage m Judea, the Star did not ex actly point the way, as some fanci ful legends have put it, but merely indicated to the wise men the glori ous day was near at hand. The director of the Adler Plane tarium in Chicago comments that no star could “stand still” in the heav ens while the three Magi plodded wearily onward. It would swing with the other stars in the daily round, as the earth turns on its axis. And again, a star could not remain fixed over the stable on that night of nights, casting down a great broad beam of purest light. That is, no “natural” star could. It would move onward with the procession of the heavens, until it set below the horizon. A Miracle. But the world has believed in that Star for 19 centuries. Scientists do not deny that it could have been a miracle—that "Star of Wonder, Star of Hope" that shone over the crib of the Saviour. It is no more dif ficult to believe that a star could send its beams down on that sacred spot than that angels sang to the shepherds, "Glory to God In the highest.” It is one more marvel among many marvels. From the Scriptures and from tra dition it is known that the three wise men or Magi ("Magi” was the term for astrologer in the East) saw a great light in the sky, and took it for the Star that heralded the birth of the King of the Jews, who would deliver mankind from bondage. The three learned men, called kings by tradition, mounted their camels, and came together, one from Chaldea, one from Persia, and one from Ara bia. Their names, according to Bede, were Kaspar, Melchior, and Bal thasar. When they came to the stable in Bethlehem, they knelt in reverent wonder, like the simple shepherds gathered about the Babe, and of fered their rich gifts of "gold, frank incense and myrrh.” Today, al though scientific knowledge has ad vanced a thousand-fold since the time of Christ, the mystery attached to all that sacred story remains. The Star of Bethlehem is still a mystery to science. It will always remain so, for there is no way to recreate the physical conditions of that night, so long ago, and to in-, vestigate the phenomena with pre cise instruments. But millions of Christians will continue to believe that the glorious symbol of hope, the Star, shone over the little stable on that first Christmas, while celes tial music floated over the country side, and all the world was hushed in wonder. ON THE HOME FRONT RUTH WYETH SPEARS IF A chair is all legs, angles and 1 curves in the wrong places, a slip cover in the right colors and cut to bring out graceful lines and cover defects, will give any dining room chair set a new personality. First Choice in the Service If you’ve ever noticed the top of a Marine Officer’s visor cap, you’ve seen* on it something you won’t find on any other cap worn in Uncle Sam’s service—a neat “X” of looped braid. There’s a story back of that braided “X”, and it goes back more than 150 years, to a time shortly after the U. S. Marines were first organized. In those days of sailing ships, naval battles often ended in close hand-to-hand fighting, as the crew of one ship tried to board the oth er—and Marines, of course, were in the thick of the fight. Some were in the boarding party, an^ some were posted in the rigging to fire down on the enemy. It was be cause of those men firing from high on the masts that Marine of ficers—whose uniforms from above resembled the enemy’s — fixed “X’S” on their hats. In other words, that, braid meant to the Marines in the rigging, “X marks the spot—not to shoot at!” Since those days, the “X” on the cap has become a .standard part of the Marines’ uniform. Another piece of “standard equipment” you’ll notice among Marines these days—whether they’re wearing dress uniform or combat dunga rees—is the American cigarettes they carry with them wherever they go. In all those news pictures you’ve seen of Uncle Sam’s fight I ing men, snapped as they are re i laxing while “off duty,” you’ll find that in most cases they will be smoking a cigarette. And what brand do they prefer? Well, actual sales records show that the favo rite with men in the Marines—as in the Navy—is Camel. Likewise, according to the sales records, Camels are first choice with men in the Army. Fighting men who have come back from jungles, deserts, and mountains—wherever Uncle Sam’s forces are stationed — give one pretty good reason for this choice. They say that Camels stay fresh —that out in the jungles of Guadal canal, for instance, the Camels they get are actually just as fresh tasting and full-flavored as the ones they used to get back home. Of course, the millions of men in training camps here at home want their cigarettes just as much as soldiers. Your dealer now has Camels in special Christmas car tons, gay and colorful—and he will be glad to wrap them for you for mailing.—Adv. That was the treatment given a set of old chairs like the one shown here. A two-piece frock was planned to repeat tones in the wall paper of the room in which the chairs were to be used. The bold stripes of the putty tan, green and wine red material gave just the right contrast with the flowered pattern on the wall. Narrow green fringe was used for edging and the sketch shows how the two pieces of the slip cover were made. • • • NOTE—Readers who want to make tai lored slip covers for living room chairs will find detailed directions in SEWING BOOK 10. Price. 15 cents. Send your or der to MRS. RUTH WYETH SPEARS Bedford Hills New York Drawer IS Enclose 15 cents for Sewing Book No. 10. Name .. Address .. (V. (V. (V (V. (V. (\, (V. (V (V. (V. (V. (V. (\, (V. (V. {V. (V. j ASK ME 4% | J ANOTHER [ » P A General Quiz | C*- (V. (V. (V. (V. (V. (V.