MYSTERY OF MARS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 404, 13 January 1909, Page 8

MYSTERY OF MARS.

„ OUR STRUCCLE TO PIERCE IT. - FINAL SOLUTION CERTAIN. [Bv RICHATiDSON Rae] Cuneiform , inscriptions unearthed thirty years ago at Nineveh brought to light the fact,that the planet Mars was known, 2500 yeato before our era, and, as a deity, presided over the day of the weok we call Tuesday. Its fiery and ruddy appearance led the ancient peoples of Italy and the Jews of., remote ages to name it the "blazing" star. This extraordinary brilliancy, however, does not manifest itself oftener than once in every fifteen years, and more especially once jo every forty-seven years, at which intervals the planet is nearest to the earth, and otherwise most favourably situated for display and observation. Of course, yon remember the little that was actually ascertained about Mars up to, say, 1577. But,there are multitudes of I people whose memory is by -no means retentive, who, for example, could not call to mind when the. Bofer War broke out, exactly where the Transvaal was, or whether the Boers were white men, or a black race like the Zulus. The reader wonld open his or her ejes pretty wide were the names of many of these absent-minded bemgs—Australasian " statesmen "i and professional politicians amongst them [—printed. It was, of course, the newspaper which quiclSy refreshed their memories, and now nobody needs to be told whether the Transvaal is in Asia or Africa.

Strangeness.■': ;■■.;> ■ ; •story- -beautiful.- littlo glojiie. (half-the {size.of ■bur•'•■world), as.known up to about:the ; :date,:mentioned above can be set , out. in : a;;very-,-few 'sentences. When viewed through, a :fairly: powerful telescope it .not 'unlike , the aspect of 'the moon .as , :, seen-: here'- by • the naked eye.' That ;is;. to; sayjsihe':'surfaces of.both .artr marked 'TOtH;:darfoand'i v ]ighter and. brighter areas of avperaanenticharabteTv ", The. dark.regions oh Mars:;%ere? : lorigvsup.posed■ to be 1 land, the lightervgreenish:tregionsvbeingiislands and continents. ~;,■: howeyety these : distributions'/have' been reversed; - as the ! result, of ■observationsjiiso- that.now'' the\dark patches; areisupposed: oceans . andl'se'asj -1 the lighter;' , localities'vbeingtland. : The\diiy; on Mars:is,;.half,faniKdnr/longer.-than our day; ltsryear ipnearly/.t'wo of. our lyears, and it neverx:conies ,^ear*er- ,- to'us in 'its''revolution roundvtlie'.'siin'■.than , "-34 of miles; while.atiiitsfgreiiesiA'distance'from us,it is 248 ;milJi6ns 'of:: miles- ■' away! ' Arid this is probably-all'that was discovered about the planet- up'toths latter end of "thelast fceti-tui-y; --':. : - '}■}:■'■•■■-?■ :-r y '::.-■■ /■: , :•■■■. ■■, •' ■

FirsiyStartling i Discovery. : ■ , ; / ': 'Button^September : 5, 1877;- a telegram announced 'to: the world that the eminent astronomervSchiaparelli, studying' the snrface/,of.,;Ma l rs_. ; in, the' observatory -at Milan' through V;fc>werful, telescope, had dc-' tected .(the.; presence of i'a : network ■■ of geometrically ■■■ strfligEtlfines, which' cut across each v other' ■■" -directions; on -the Ej which-he-took'tp , be °S/W?,--9?^' ; fe n ( iiel?.vU These , : markings ■■ were s ?-?5. te1 l? I Vi?. amouii■"..fed Tip, severalT-'thoiisarids, : . miles'- .in 1 ,: length, while,, visible';.at; all; they must , be at ,l^t^^fteenJfliileSjV(ndoV : :-,; y;v ••■■'.' ■ ;:•..'■■■"':: / 'j;:W l %be™\ .was j avunifjiie' astronomical ■ won-' 4§j.U her,'at all. events ,njMoes,nflt .ao..Eer;iKPrk!.on-geonief;rical'prin- ■ S?J??;,3iiV I» d .?«l.; ; , "be - said ■to■ abhor tne.-engmeer,'-whose often .neces-sarily-i-'cpmbatVwitHinature; his igrea'test' ",'of.this .'globe 'being- vie--tpries sovfcnature.-■ <fU ■ followed,. therefore," W$P i, , ,phe5e,.;...'-,mar,v.ellons ► "canals; -V v must" :SS: •;SM,r , .3J^K-.Mof,w'aai»—of- "intelligent ■ "ourselves"— : pernaps.-.Mnrtolyt,..indre resourceful'-than iourselves—who': had designed-and constructed ; WS??'$ a En>ficent, v water-cburses for. irrigation . WS°M-i :,■P.nSi-i.W.aji-' ) he iyery certain> that: ! every .telesijopg in./' Europe'-.and .;'■ America' ; brpught; r .Mars, .;nrider, : .'close; and T - anxious ,scr»jimy^ni|he;iollowing i :inight;; > But: / not..'a 0 ' W%:&Tii\ -yfsß. J visible. ;;, T .And for ; twp ■ 5^r s .s jtheyXdeclinedX/to A exhibit : t fteinselyea,.tQ,i,"afly.b6dyi. anywhere.'.'•. Hence ' arpsKihuch/,cpntr6versy..'an6^l some.scepticism ss.;.,w.,,j;he.ijeahty s of :1 their, existence. -.; ■" ■ .:.,;;./ ';^-,. : ;( : ; ? .;v

;''vßut.in!_lß79, and again,in' ; lßß2 the geometri-;cab-markings', wire- again':seen hy> various ; astronomers.|:ln'lßßs. two observersy'stationed ;at:- places, thousanda !bf;miles;apart/ 'not' only 1 saw.vthe-lines; ; butvmadef.drawings .of.them, and on 'being coinpafed, it'-was. found that .theseiplans-subßtantially agreed. .'"Within the iast'/teii years vsuch:';'astrpnomical •; opinion -as ; dissented...St/first ,'has been,' :in .the main ,•; conyertedi: ; Quite'i recently,. however, '.probably ; every,'astronpmer'.in;the world has; been quite ; content-to accept,,the evidence -;rb to the jtre- : sence,-.of; the-, geometrical 1 markings on liars, from-the: ; Lowell ■ and- consisting of < three , 'volumes,illustrated?:with'-hundreds of drawphotographs .taken';, by ; different -people, ; all r and all showing • the-- same-■ identical lines."; • We: do : not 'see h%dt.is ; ppssible!' (says areoent. number of the "Edinbu^h!Review" to-hand), ."'to deny,the . substantial j,truth;pf; the.' strange -:geometrical l arrangementvwhichvreEts/now.upon-:a solid. I basis, of pbserv'ationi . On-the 'contrary, we imust accept.]ihe';problem;of explaining it as :one;pf'the.mostrinteresting of current astronomical ;■ ■ que'stioris.",:■;; .The ''"Edinburgh! Review,":.it; may be^Doted,'\argue& strongly .against , the.reality;of the.Sehiaparelle lines repeatedly;-during ■ inany ; years, 'i It is> now ;spme/;years i -.Bmce,-,the present writer , saw, a iMpy s pf. plan.showMg the;-markings ■•',! The disc <of the planetj as .drawn, reminded,him'- , of. : -the , lines .a to demonstrate ' the'- truwf.of one '.of..- the .'more abstruse pro-. L, : :"-V. ' ; ,:;'■■'

The'"; Mystery Deepened: , Canals,'( but ' No , .tip. :;;:.%:•: '^•.^■■:; : Y■ •- - : v .'. ; :; And. now,' the. existence of /these long-dis-? puted.:.markingsi;.haying ■ been clearly established, vthejproblem, of the future : is to.discoyer.what andrwhy. they are; and how came ; they«into;/being?;V-.Sir Robert Ball,' AstronomerEoyal/.for.lrelandi[thinks human life .becer,taitt:.of.the.:existence on'the planet^.even . :the atmosphere•. of Mar.s;.had- but.ie.W; points".'. : . of ■ resemblance, either:in!cbmppsitipn-or density,*to the atmpsi>here,',of; thejeartli..";..-But , .no. substari-has/.-ever obscured the disc, of .the planet^^andj.evettyif.;water were abundaat, .well'frozen;, always "and. ey,eryw,here;- ; 3)he!:distance.of.Mar% from the sun_<;is/abput-.tTCice that of tho earth,:consequently ."an.";'equal;.area;on the. surface of will/only obtain one-fourth '/of the . amount; of; heat 'received from the siin upon such ari.'area on : eaxth'.- A very able'a'uthbrityirrj.; B..SkTitschly.;of;H.M.. Imperial SurV.eX,,Staff ji effectually. put' man. out' o.f.jcpurt'.in-considering-the ..question .of the climate;^fvMarß. > *f,'^ye. ; .may take" (he says) "the mean temperature of England: at 50 de'g,; F.y; then,; at .the of Mars, the .temperature ..would."be 12.5, deg. ■ F., or 19,5 deg.'P.J: beloWr'the "mean 'temperature of any :known'place;in "the "world. .'Similarly,: the ■ the,eauator is'.about of.Mars it would be ,20. deg..^F.,'',!or.4,2''dcg. , ,P. : below ■ zero. 'Eren ,the suipmerjVqpiperature of .the Sahara,' which is nqw....05.'.deg,.]?.) would fall to 8.3 deg. F.. ! But-.theso calculations do not show, the full extent of the. ■cold:'we should suffer' at the distance'of Mars. All the.oceans— : if.'atK7—woTild t be;fr'ozen:"' no : currents, could convey":heat:.from /the tropics l'toAthe''..polar;rogioiis,V.wKioli..vrdula,-'in' oonsoquencei ;have.,ineir''!.climates:. vastly more y^go'rousj^ba'n j 'h'a , B.:.b'ee'n..assumed. : ; . . ' ; /

The Groat Discovery Impending. This account of tho climate of Mars would appear to settle the question as to the construction of canals on Mars by man, without reference to difference m gravitation, rarity of the 'Martian atmosphere, or other facts tending to show that Mars is no abidingplace for mortals like us But there's no knowing 1 By and by the mystery of Mars will bo solved It has been the nddle of the universe for thirty years, and may continue so to ho for a century In tho meantime, wo quote tho eternal Refereo, who says "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, tban aro dreamt of in your philosophy"—OE science either.