What was going on when I was born?

PASADENA, Calif. LONG before telescopes or spacecraft, the ancients observed lights in the sky that wandered. They called them wandering stars, the planets. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, the visible wandering stars were sources of wonder and speculation, and people reached out to them in their imagination, investing them with life and extraordinary civilizations. Anything seemed possible, for nothing was known. In time astronomers with telescopes sighted other planets, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, and moons around all of the planets save Mercury and Venus. Then in 1962, five years into the space age, humans began reaching out to the planets with incredible machines that resolved the distant lights into worlds of hard rock, ice, stormy gases, whistling plasmas, methane oceans, sulfurous volcanoes and other strange and unexpected vistas. Anything, it seemed, was possible -except the legendary Martians - as the worlds around the sun emerged from the unknown. Over the last two decades the little spacecraft, American and Soviet, embarked for all the planets except Pluto. A year hardly passed without a close encounter by at least one of the craft with one of the sun's family. They reconnoitered all the planets known to the ancients, orbited and probed the surface of Venus and landed on the red plains of Mars in search of life.

The Sony Corporation today displayed a new camera for the consumer market that, through the application of advanced electronic and video technology, takes still pictures without the use of traditional photographic film. The new camera is not intended to replace conventional cameras, stressed Akio Morita, Sony's chairman, at an an hourlong news conference and demonstration here. Instead, he said, the product will ''provide a new type of video service.'' He likened it to the videotape recorder, which records movies and television programs for later viewing, but is not a substitute for television.

Mark David Chapman, who pleaded guilty to the fatal shooting last December of John Lennon outside the singer's apartment building, was sentenced yesterday to 20 years to life in prison. In pronouncing sentence in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, Acting Justice Dennis Edwards Jr. recommended that Mr. Chapman receive psychiatric treatment during his confinement. Mr. Chapman must remain in prison for 20 years before becoming eligible for parole. The maximum penalty he could have received was 25 years to life. Nearly all the courtroom's 120 seats were filled, and the audience was split about equally between reporters and spectators, some of whom wore Lennon memorabilia. Mr. Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, was not present.

When Lowell Haskins, an American poultry breeder, visited Zambia not long ago, he was invited to lunch at the luxurious home of a Cabinet minister. The official's wife asked if he would like to see her chickens, and then led him outside. There in the back garden were 300 broilers being fattened for the Lusaka market. ''It was like being invited to the home of Alexander Haig and having Mrs. Haig show you her chicken business in the backyard,'' said Mr. Haskins, whose Connecticut company, Arbor Acres, supplies almost one-third of the world's breeding stock for broilers. All over the developing world, the production and consumption of meat are soaring. In the last five years, for example, the per capita consumption of poultry has risen by 24 percent in the developing countries. Poultry Part of Meat Category The meat category, as defined by experts, includes poultry in addition to beef, veal, pork and sheep, goat and horse meats. The trend is the most important change in global eating habits of the last decade, in the view of many food experts. Despite warnings in the early 1970's that the world's food-producing capacity could not sustain an American-style diet, people in Africa and the Middle East, in the rapidly growing countries of Southeast Asia and in Eastern Europe, Mexico and Brazil are using their rising incomes to purchase more meat.

Home of Iranian Prosecutor Gen- eral is attacked A2 Refugees on Malaysian island are in good spirits A5 Workers at Katowice steel mill challenge manager's authority A6 Around the World A7 Greece announces general elec- tions for October A8 South Korean dissidents display anti-American feelings A9 Excerpts from news conference aboard the Nimitz A10 Qaddafi seeks support for Arab meeting on U.S. "aggression" A11 Mrs. Kirkpatrick says arms to Pakistan not a threat to India A12 Government/Politics U.S. preparing revisionn of rules on intelligence work A16 New York's police precinct cap- tains turn policy into reality B1 Koch says criticism of judges has brought tougher sentences B3 James Smith, challenger of Mayor Koch, is ruled off ballot B4 City Council group backs bill on student voter forms B19 General Around the Nation A14 New fly forces widening of Cali- fornia quarantine A14 Convicted spy is arraigned on charge of escaping from prison A14 Dispute stalls Kentucky town's dreams of being power baron A14 With one brass mill left, town strives to rebuild economy B2 Judge dismisses kite flier's sum- mons as "for the birds" B3 Body of man whose two brothers disappeared will be exhumed B14 Dinner plates are recovered from the sunken liner Andrea Doria D18 Features/Notes Notes on People B8 Going Out Guide C8 Science Times Era of planetary exploration draws to a close C1 The wisdom of ancient Egypt comes to life as limericks C1 Education: Thinking and writing, taught as one C1 Doctor's World: Alcoholic rats may help solve a problem C2 Science Watch C4 About Education: Bell proposes a forum of ideas C5 Industry/Labor Communications Workers give $100,000 to strikers B12 Controllers union accused in staff union dispute B12 Arts/Entertainment Brazilian film, "All Nudity Shall Be Punished," opens C6 American Jazz Alliance is formed to raise funds C6 Michael O'Keefe to replace Thomas in "Fifth of July" C6 How a lawyer created "Choose Your Own Adventure" books C7 Rosalind Newman's "Ssandd" danced at Battery Park C7 Biography of H.H. Munro re- viewed C10 Danish television pirate gains support of citizens C20 "Nova" telecast tonight features Voyager II nearing Saturn C20 Style Notes on Fashion B13 Aiding women to seek office B13 The latest from London arrives in SoHo (ours) B13 Sports Twins beat Yanks, 3-2, on rookie's homer in 12th inning B15 Reds' Berenyi strikes out 12 in stopping Mets on 2-hitter, 2-0 B15 Giants put Reed, quarterback, and Heater, on injured reserve B15 The year of Bobby Allison B15 George Vecsey on testing the N.B.A. draft B16 Leslie Allen beaten incontrover- sial Volvo tennis match B16 Oilers, hopeful, keep Stabler on roster B16 Royals end Tigers' winning streak at nine B17 Great Neck and Cordero prevail as Saratoga meet ends B18 News Analysis Bernard Gwertzman on the plane- sale decision A3 Editorials/Letters/Op-Ed Editorials A18 State of nature - and ignorance Gubernatorial honeymootch A warning, again, to women More bad advice about crime Letters A18 Sydney H. Schanberg: ping-pong with the homeless A19 Tom Wicker: rethinking the MX A19 Bowden Quinn: a bad rap for Lagos A19 Steve Ellner: Venezuelan sur- prises A19

A news item in Notes on People yesterday incorrectly described the Jerry Rubin who participated in an antinuclear protest in California on Saturday. Mr. Rubin is a student, freelance writer and sculptor's model from Venice Beach, Calif.

Congressional budget analysts foresee a 1982 budget deficit $15 billion to $20 billion higher than the $42.5 billion projected by the Reagan Administration in its official forecasts. Their predictions appear in documents expected to be published next month when legislators again take up the budget for the fiscal year 1982, which begins Oct. 1. Aides of the Senate Budget Committee and the Congressional Budget Office said that their separate in-house forecasts assume higher spending for interest costs and military outlays than predicted last month by the Reagan budget team.

The Reagan Administration formally notified Congress today that it was proceeding with its intention to sell Saudi Arabia five radar planes and other air defense equipment. The Administration said the $8.5 billion sale would be the ''cornerstone'' of a policy to strengthen United States strategic interests in the Middle East. A senior State Department official told reporters that the Administration was confident that ''the sheer logic of the proposal is so overwhelming as to guarantee success'' during a Congressional debate in which the $8.5 billion sale could be vetoed by a joint resolution of disapproval. Buckley Denies Peril to Israel James L. Buckley, Under Secretary of State for Security Assistance, in presenting the air defense deal with the Saudis, referred to concern that it might pose a threat to Israel He said: ''Let me reaffirm that this Administration remains committed to the security of Israel and will insure that Israel maintains its substantial military advantage over potential adversaries.

''There was no chance that I was not going to pull the trigger.

Few trades were made on the spot oil market yesterday in the apparent expectation that some crude prices will be reduced in the wake of OPEC's failure last week to reach agreement on pricing. ''Nothing is happening,'' said Gary Ross, research director of the Petroleum Industry Research Foundation. ''It's dead.'' But some analysts suggested that yesterday's inactivity - and similar inactivity last week - might also represent a calm before spot prices spiral downward. They said this might happen because Saudi Arabia's announced decision to cut production during September by a million barrels a day will not be sufficient to end the worldwide oil glut, even if the cut is maintained in succeeding months.

ON-HUDSON, N.Y. MARK Twain worked in bed. Thornton Wilder required a walk. Ernest Hemingway is said to have needed to sharpen pencils. But here at Bard College no such indulgence about writing is permissible. It is 7 A.M. and all the freshmen are seated in the cafeteria in the middle of summer, weeks before the school term gets officially under way, being directed to write. It is not necessary to think about the writing, to worry about being judged or to wait for the muse. The students just have to sit down, oblivious to the setting and early hour, and do it.

If the Standard Brands Paint Company, the West's largest home decorating company, were a house, it would be a 42-year-old stucco bungalow, structurally sound, clean, cozy and fully paid for, but in need of renovation. Highly regarded on Wall Street in the late 1960's for its growth and earnings potential, the West Coast paint company has continued to do well, but has never measured up to early expectations. Earnings have risen steadily to $15.4 million on sales of $202.1 million last year. But Standard Brands Paint has not been an aggressive marketer such as Sears or Montgomery Ward. And because Standard Brands has taken no chances, made no acquisitions and spent no money, it has slipped into obscurity among the do-it-yourself companies.