Part 12

The superior planets, whose orbits lie beyond that of the Earth and enclose it, present a different appearance. A superior planet never passes between the Earth and the Sun, since its orbit lies beyond that of our globe, and, therefore, no inferior conjunction of such a planet can ever occur. When one of these planets passes beyond the Sun, just opposite to the place occupied by the Earth, the planet is said to be in "conjunction;" while, when it is on the same side of the Sun with our globe, it is said to be in "opposition." While occupying this last position, the planet is most advantageously situated for observation, since it is then nearer to the Earth. The period comprised between two successive conjunctions, or two successive oppositions of a planet, is called its "synodical period." This period differs for every planet.

It is supposed that all the planets rotate from west to east, like our globe; although no direct evidence of the rotation of Mercury Uranus, and Neptune has yet been obtained, it is probable that these planets rotate like the others. It results from the rotation of the planets that they have their days and nights, like our Earth, but differing in duration for every planet.

The axes of rotation of the planets are more or less inclined to their respective orbits, and this inclination varies but little in the course of time. From the inclination of the axes of rotation of the planets to their orbits, it results that these bodies have seasons like those of the Earth; but, of course, they differ from our seasons in duration and intensity, according to the period of revolution and the inclination of the axis of each separate planet.

THE PLANET MARS

PLATE VIII

Mars is the fourth of the planets in order of distance from the sun; Mercury, Venus and the Earth being respectively the first, second and third.

Owing to the great eccentricity of its orbit, the distance of Mars from the Sun is subject to considerable variations. When this planet is in its aphelion, its distance from the Sun is 152,000,000 miles, but at perihelion it is only 126,000,000 miles distant, the planet being therefore 26,000,000 miles nearer the Sun at perihelion than at aphelion. The mean distance of Mars from the Sun is 139,000,000 miles. Light, which travels at the rate of 185,000 miles a second, occupies 12½ minutes in passing from the Sun to this planet.

While the distance of Mars from the Sun varies considerably, its distance from the Earth varies still more. When Mars comes into opposition, its distance from our globe is comparatively small, especially if the opposition occurs in August, as the two planets are then as near together as it is possible for them to be, their distance apart being only 33,000,000 miles. But if the opposition occurs in February, the distance may be nearly twice as great, or 62,000,000 miles. On the other hand, when Mars is in conjunction in August, the distance between the two planets is the greatest possible, or no less than 245,000,000 miles; while, when the conjunction occurs in February, it is only 216,000,000 miles. Hence the distance between Mars and the Earth varies from .33 to 245 millions of miles; that is, this planet may be 212 million miles nearer to us at its nearest oppositions than at its most distant conjunctions.

From these varying distances of Mars from the Earth, necessarily result great variations in the brightness and apparent size of the planet, as seen from our globe. When nearest to us it is a very conspicuous object, appearing as a star of the first magnitude, and approaching Jupiter in brightness; but when it is farthest it is much reduced, and is hardly distinguishable from the stars of the second and even third magnitude. In the first position, the apparent diameter of Mars is 26", in the last it is reduced to 3" only.

The orbit of Mars has the very small inclination of 1° 51' to the plane of the ecliptic. The planet revolves around the Sun in a period of 687 days, which constitutes its sidereal year, the year of Mars being only 43 days less than two of our years.

Mars travels along its orbit with a mean velocity of 15 miles per second, being about ⁸⁄₁₀ of the velocity of our globe in its orbit. The synodical period of Mars is 2 years and 48 days, during which the planet passes through all its degrees of brightness.

Mars is a smaller planet than the Earth, its diameter being only 4,200 miles, and its circumference 13,200 miles. It seems well established that it is a little flattened at its poles, but the actual amount of this flattening is difficult to obtain. According to Prof. Young, the polar compression is ¹⁄₂₁₉.

The surface of this planet is a little over ²⁸⁄₁₀₀ of the surface of our globe, and its volume is 6½ times less than that of the Earth. Its mass is only about ⅒ while its density is about ¾ that of the Earth. The force of gravitation at its surface is nearly ¾ of what it is at the surface of our globe.

The planet Mars rotates on an axis inclined 61° 18' to the plane of its orbit, so that its equator makes an angle of 28° 42' with the same plane. The period of rotation of this planet, which constitutes its sidereal day, is 24 h. 37 m. 23 s.

The year of Mars, which is composed of 669⅔ of these Martial days, equals 687 of our days, this planet rotating 669⅔ times upon its axis during this period. But owing to the movement of Mars around the Sun, the number of solar days in the Martial year is only 668⅔, while, owing to the same cause, the solar day of Mars is a little longer than its sidereal day, and equals 24 h. 39 m. 35 s.

The days and nights on Mars are accordingly nearly of the same length as our days and nights, the difference being a little less than three-quarters of an hour. But while the days and nights of Mars are essentially the same as ours, its seasons are almost twice as long as those of the Earth. Their duration for the northern hemisphere, expressed in Martial days, is as follows: Spring, 191; Summer, 181; Autumn, 149; Winter, 147. While the Spring and Summer of the northern hemisphere together last 372 days, the Autumn and Winter of the same hemisphere last only 296 days, or 76 days less. Since the summer seasons of the northern hemisphere correspond to the winter seasons of the southern hemisphere, and vice versa, the northern hemisphere, owing to its longer summer, must accumulate a larger quantity of heat than the last. But on Mars, as on the Earth, there is a certain law of compensation resulting from the eccentricity of the planet's orbit, and from the fact that the middle of the summer of the southern hemisphere of this planet, coincides with its perihelion. From the greater proximity of Mars to the Sun at that time, the southern hemisphere then receives more heat in a given time than does the northern hemisphere in its summer season. When everything is taken into account, however, it is found that the southern hemisphere must have warmer summers and colder winters than the northern hemisphere.

Seen with the naked eye, Mars appears as a fiery red star, whose intensity of color is surpassed by no other star in the heavens. Seen through the telescope, it retains the same red tint, which, however, appears less intense, and gradually fades away toward the limb, where it is replaced by a white luminous ring.

Observed September 3, 1877, at 11h. 55m. P.M.]

Mars is a very difficult object to observe, the atmosphere surrounding it being sometimes so cloudy and foggy that the sight can hardly penetrate through its vapors. When this planet is observed under favorable atmospheric conditions, and with sufficient magnifying power, its surface, which is of a general reddish tint, is found to be diversified by white, gray and dark markings. The dark markings, which are the most conspicuous, almost completely surround the planet. They are of different forms and sizes, and very irregular, as can be seen on Plate VIII., which represents one of the hemispheres of this planet. Many of them, especially those situated in the tropical regions of the planet, form long narrow bands, whose direction is in the main parallel to the Martial equator.

The dusky spots differ very much, both from one another and in their several parts, as regards intensity of shade. Some appear almost black, while others which appear grayish, are so faint, that they can seldom be seen. In the southern hemisphere, the darkest part of the spots is generally found along their northern border; especially where there are deep indentations.

Some observers have described these spots as being greenish or bluish, but I have never been able to see the faintest trace of these colors in them, except when they were observed close to the limb, and involved in the greenish tinted ring which is always to be seen there. It is probably an effect of contrast, since green and red are complementary colors, and since this greenish tinge around the limb covers all kinds of spots, whether white or dark. When such dark spots, involved in the greenish tint, are carried by the rotation towards the centre of the disk, they no longer show this greenish color. To me, these spots have always appeared dark, and of such tints as would result from a mixture of white and black in different proportions; except that on their lighter portions they show some of the prevalent reddish tint of the Martial surface. It is to be remarked that in moments of superior definition of the telescopic image, the intensity of darkness of all the spots is considerably increased--some of them appearing almost perfectly black.

The markings on the surface of Mars are now tolerably well known--especially those of its southern hemisphere, which, owing to the greater proximity of the planet to our globe when this hemisphere is inclined towards the earth, have been better studied. Those of the northern hemisphere are not so well known, since when this hemisphere is inclined towards us, the distance of Mars from the Earth is 26,000,000 miles greater, so that the occasions for observing them are not so favorable.

Several charts of Mars are in existence, but as the same nomenclature has not been employed in all of them, some confusion has arisen in regard to the names given to the most remarkable features of the planet's surface. In order to give clearness to the subject, it will be necessary here to give a brief description of the principal markings represented on Plate VIII. In this the nomenclature will be employed which has been adopted by the English observers in the fine chart of Mr. Nath. Green. The large dark spot represented on the left-hand side of the plate is called De La Rue Ocean. The dark oval spot, isolated in the vicinity of the centre of the disk, is called Terby Sea; while the dark, irregular form on the right, near the border, represents the western extremity of Maraldi Sea.

The dusky spots of Mars seem to be permanent, and to form a part of the general surface of the planet. That several among them, at least, are permanent, is proved by the fact that they have been observed in the same position, and with the same general form, for over two centuries. Yet, if we are to depend upon the drawings made fifty years ago by Beer and Maedler, it would seem that the permanency of some of them does not exist, since a very large spot represented by these astronomers on their chart of Mars is not visible now. This object, which, on their map, has its middle at 270°, should be precisely under the prominent dark oval spot called Terby Sea, seen near the centre of the picture, and would extend down almost as far as the northern limb. This can hardly be attributed to an error of observation, since these observers were both careful, and had great experience in this class of work. It is a very singular fact that, at the very same place where Maedler represented the spot in question, I found a conspicuous dark mark on December 16, 1881, which was certainly not visible in 1877, during one of the most favorable oppositions which can ever occur. The object, which is still visible (Feb., 1882), consists of an isolated spot situated a little to the north of Terby Sea. During the memorable opposition of 1877, I investigated thoroughly the markings of Mars, and made over 200 drawings of its disk, 32 of which represent the Terby Sea; but this isolated spot was not to be seen, unless it be identified with the faint mark, represented on the plate, which occupied its place. There cannot be the slightest doubt that a change has occurred at that place. Changes in the markings have also been suspected on the other hemisphere of the planet.

The well-known fact that the continents, and especially the mountainous and denuded districts of our globe, reflect much more light than the surfaces covered by water, has led astronomers to suppose that the dark spots on Mars are produced by a liquid strongly absorbing the rays of light, like the liquids on the surface of the Earth. According to this theory the dark spots observed are supposed to be lakes, seas, and oceans, similar to our own seas and oceans, while the reddish and whitish surfaces separating these dark spots, are supposed to be islands, peninsulas, and continents. This supposition seems certainly to have a great deal of probability in its favor, although some of the lighter markings may have a different origin, and perhaps be due to vegetation; but no observer has yet seen in them any of the changes which ought to result from change of seasons. Some of the changes in the dark spots might also be attributed to the flooding or drying up of marshes and low land. The change which I have observed lately might be attributed to such a cause, especially as my observation was made shortly after the spring equinox of the northern hemisphere of Mars, which occurred on December 8th.

Besides the dark spots just described, there are markings of a different character and appearance. Among the most conspicuous are two very brilliant white oval spots, which always occupy opposite sides of the planet. These two bright spots, which correspond very closely with the poles of rotation of Mars, have been called "polar spots."

On account of the inclination of the axis of rotation of this planet to the ecliptic, it is rare that both of these spots are visible on the disk at the same time; and when this occurs, they are seen considerably foreshortened, as they are then both on the limb of the planet. Usually only one spot is visible, and it appears to its best advantage when the region to which it belongs attains its maximum of inclination towards the Earth.

The polar spots change considerably in size, as they do also in form. Sometimes they occupy nearly one-third of the disk, as is proved by many of my observations; while at other times they are so much reduced as to be totally invisible. It is to be remarked that the reduction of these spots generally corresponds with the summer seasons, and their enlargement with the winter seasons of the hemispheres to which they respectively belong. From these well-observed facts it would appear that a relation exists between the temperature of the two hemispheres of Mars and the variations of the white spots observed at its poles. A similar relation is known to exist on our globe between the progress of the seasons and the melting away and the accumulation of snow in the polar regions. Astronomers have been led, accordingly, to attribute the polar spots of Mars, with all their variations, to the alternate accumulation and melting of snows. On this account, the polar spots of Mars are sometimes also called "snow-spots."