Mars and Its Mystery

Part 1

MARS AND ITS MYSTERY

MARS AND ITS MYSTERY

BY EDWARD S. MORSE

MEMBER NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Author of "Japanese Homes and their Surroundings," "Glimpses of China and Chinese Homes," etc.

ILLUSTRATED

BOSTON LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 1906

COPYRIGHT, 1906, BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.

All rights reserved

Published October, 1906

THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A.

To PERCIVAL LOWELL WHO HAS BY HIS ENERGY AND SCIENTIFIC SPIRIT ESTABLISHED A NEW STANDARD FOR THE STUDY OF MARS THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED

PREFACE

The following pages have been written for the general reader. The controversies over the interpretation of the curious markings of Mars and the wide divergence of opinion as to their nature first turned my attention to the matter. The question of intelligence in other worlds is of perennial interest to everyone, and that question may possibly be settled by an unprejudiced study of our neighboring planet Mars. Knowing the many analogies between Mars and the Earth, we are justified in asking what conditions really exist in Mars. Instead of flouting at every attempt to interpret the various and complicated markings of its surface, we should soberly consider any rational explanation of these enigmas from the postulate that the two spheres, so near together in space, cannot be so far apart physically, and from the fact that as intelligence is broadly modifying the appearance of the surface of the Earth, a similar intelligence may also be marking the face of Mars.

A student familiar with a general knowledge of the heavens, a fair acquaintance with the surface features of the Earth, with an appreciation of the doctrine of probabilities, and capable of estimating the value of evidence, is quite as well equipped to examine and discuss the nature of the markings of Mars as the astronomer. If, furthermore, he is gifted with imagination and is free from all prejudice in the matter, he may have a slight advantage. Astronomers are probably the most exact of all students as to their facts, and in this discussion there is no attempt to introduce evidence they do not supply, as the frequent quotations from their writings will show.

Having studied Mars through nearly one presentation of the planet with the great refractor at the Lowell Observatory, what I saw with my own eyes, uninfluenced by what others saw, will be presented in a short chapter at the end of this book.

I wish to express my obligations to Professor Percival Lowell for the privileges of his observatory, for many of the illustrations in this book, and for his unbounded hospitality during my visit to Flagstaff. I am also deeply indebted to Mr. Russell Robb for valuable assistance during the preparation of the manuscript.

E. S. M.

SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS, October, 1906.

CONTENTS

Page I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. IMMEASURABLE DISTANCES OF SPACE 7 III. OTHER WORLDS INHABITED 14 IV. LOWELL'S BOOK ON MARS 31 V. TESTIMONY OF ASTRONOMERS 51 VI. THE STUDY OF PLANETARY MARKINGS 70 VII. DIFFICULTIES OF SEEING 79 VIII. VARIATION IN DRAWING 94 IX. THEORIES REGARDING THE CANALS 100 X. COMMENTS AND CRITICISM 125 XI. ATMOSPHERE AND MOISTURE 134 XII. NOTES ON IRRIGATION 141 XIII. VARIETY OF CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH LIFE EXISTS 147 XIV. MY OWN WORK 158 XV. WHAT THE MARTIANS MIGHT SAY OF US 166 XVI. SCHIAPARELLI, LOWELL, PERROTIN, THOLLON 172 XVII. LAST WORDS 180 INDEX 189

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

LOWELL'S GLOBE OF MARS Frontispiece Fig. 1. PLANISPHERE OF EARTH Page 61

PLATES

I. TOBACCO CULTIVATION UNDER CLOTH, PORTO RICO Page 50 II. DRAWINGS OF SOLAR CORONA " 96 III. CHINESE BOWL, SHOWING CRACKLE " 107 IV. MUD CRACKS ON SHORE OF ROGER'S LAKE, ARIZONA " 108 V. NATURAL LINES, CRACKS, FISSURES, ETC. " 112 VI. ARTIFICIAL LINES, RAILWAYS, STREETS, CANALS, ETC. " 113 VII. DOME OF LOWELL OBSERVATORY, FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA " 158 VIII. TWENTY-FOUR INCH TELESCOPE, LOWELL OBSERVATORY " 160 IX. DRAWINGS OF CANALS OF MARS BY THE AUTHOR " 162

PORTRAITS

GIOVANNI VIRGINIO SCHIAPARELLI Page 172 PERCIVAL LOWELL " 174 HENRI PERROTIN " 176 M. THOLLON " 178

Life not wholly unlike that on the earth may therefore exist upon Mars for anything we know to the contrary.

Part 2

SIMON NEWCOMB.

MARS AND ITS MYSTERY

INTRODUCTION

Had some one asked, fifty years ago, Is the Sun composed of chemical elements with which we are familiar? Shall we ever know? the question would not have been deemed worthy of a second thought. Realizing what has been accomplished, not only regarding the constitution of the Sun, but of the most remote stars, we are encouraged to ask: Is Mars inhabited? Shall we ever know? To what groups of students are we to appeal for an answer? If we want to know the diameter of Mars, its weight, the form of its orbit, the inclination of its axis, the period of its revolution around the Sun, and its rotation period, its ephemeris and its albedo, we ask the astronomer, for he has the instruments with which to observe and measure, and the mathematical knowledge necessary to reduce the measurements. If Mars were incandescent, we should appeal to the astrophysicist for information regarding its chemical composition. If, however, we want to know the probability of Mars being the abode of life, we should appeal to one who is familiar with the conditions of life upon our own globe. If the question is asked as to the existence of intelligence on the planet, we endeavor to trace evidences of its surface markings, and their character, whether natural or artificial. Knowing how profoundly man has changed the appearance of the surface features of our own globe in the removal of vast forests, in the irrigation of enormous tracts of sterile plain, the filling up of certain areas, like Peking, Tokio, London, with material having a different reflecting surface, we are to scan the surface of Mars for similar modifications, and for an answer ask those who are familiar with physical geography, with meteorology, with geology, including the character of natural cracks or crannies, deep cañon, or range of mountains, or any of the great cataclysms which have scarred the face of the Earth. Taking the great mass of facts as they are presented to us by astronomers, to what class are we to appeal as to the probability of life in other worlds? What class will form the most rational conclusions? Will it be the circle-squarers, perpetual-motion cranks, spiritualists, survivals of a past who believe the world is flat, those who have "anthropomorphic conceptions of the Supreme" and Hebraic conceptions of the origin of things, or will it be those who value observation and experiment, who appreciate the importance of large numbers, and who are endowed with a tithe of imagination? Most certainly the latter class.

In approaching the interpretation of the markings of Mars we should first glance at a brief historical summary of what has already been done. We should examine the testimony of those who have seen and drawn the canals; we are then better prepared to examine the records of the latest observations and the explanation of their nature. In the meantime an inquiry must be made as to whether the mathematical astronomer, after all, is best fitted to judge of the surface features of a planet. Next we should take up in the following order the evidences, which are overwhelming, that a network of lines, geodetic in their character, mark the surface of Mars. It has been claimed that these lines show the result of irrigation, and, therefore, the irrigation features of our own planet should be examined. It has been objected that many astronomers have not been able to see the markings, and consequently their existence has been doubted. It will then be proper to point out that the difficulties of seeing are very great, and that the acutest eyesight, coupled with long practice, is necessary to recognize the markings. It has been objected that the drawings of the minuter details of Mars vary with different observers. It will be necessary to show that every kind of research employing graphic representation labors under the same difficulty, and none more so than astronomy. It has been objected that there is not sufficient moisture and atmosphere in Mars to sustain life, and this must be answered by those only who are familiar with conditions affecting life on our own planet.

Various theories have been advanced, some of them physical, to explain the markings of Mars, and these must be considered, and, if possible, answered. Comments and criticism are difficult to repress, as the discoveries of Schiaparelli and the additional discoveries and deductions of Lowell have evoked discussions, which, in some instances, have been harsh and unreasonable, and, in one case, positively ridiculous. Schiaparelli has been called an impostor, and Lowell has come in for his full share of vituperation and innuendo. If this portion of the discussion is considered unparliamentary, the attitude and language of certain astronomers have provoked it.

A brief account is presented of what the author was enabled to draw of the Martian details, with a transcript of his notes made at the time of observation, and finally a little imaginary sketch is given as to how the world would look from Mars; and if similar kinds of astronomers existed there, what comments and objections they might offer as to the inhabitability of the Earth.

Continue reading Mars and Its Mystery free in the Wunder reader →