Wizard of Needham

In a modern-type two-story white stucco building surrounded by the scrub oak of suburban Needham, Mass., and five extra-tall poles bearing antennae, Dr. Harlan True Stetson '10a, former Dartmouth physics instructor now research associate in geophysics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, seeks to discover more about the relationship between certain phenomena on earth arid the sun's activity, especially with regard to the variations in the earth's magnetic field and the occurrences of northern lights. The hideout for M. I. T.'s laboratory was chosen to escape Cambridge's "industrial" static.

The results of Dr. Stetson's work may bring fresh knowledge of the relationship between man and his cosmic environment and lead to tremendous strides forward in the field of radio. Of radio's eccentricities last Easter, Dr. Stetson said, "In specific instances, the outbreak of large sunspots has been followed by great displays of the northern lights and a complete blackout of radio communication."

In an effort to get a better look at sunspots, Dr. Stetson has chased solar eclipses around the globe. In 1927 he traveled to Norway and got a look at a big black cloud. He had better luck, however, when he directed an expedition to the Malay Peninsula for the total solar eclipse on May 9, 1929.

While director of the Perkins Observatory of Ohio Wesleyan University, Dr. Stetson supervised there the completion of the 69-inch reflecting telescope, second largest in the United States and third largest in the world.

Some years ago he disturbed timid souls considerably by noting that the old earth's epidermis is shifting and getting wrinkled, which leads to the thought that New Hampshire must have acquired a new wrinkle in December, experiencing two earthquakes in the process.