in previous pages as having markedly confirmed the discoveries of
Schiaparelli. Through the courtesy of Professor Lowell I am enabled
to present the likenesses of these two astronomers. I am indebted to
the exhaustive work of Miss Agnes M. Clerke, entitled the "History of
Astronomy during the Nineteenth Century," for the following memoranda
of some of the work accomplished by these men. Perrotin made a series
of observations on Venus fully confirming Schiaparelli's inference
of synchronous rotation and revolution: "A remarkable collection of
drawings made by Mr. Lowell in 1896 appeared decisive in favor of the
views of Schiaparelli." In other words, Venus, like the Moon, presents
the same face to the Sun in its revolution about that luminary.
Perrotin has made important observations on the rings of Saturn; his
double-star measurements are also considered work of the highest
character.
[Illustration: M. THOLLON]
Thollon has made many spectroscopic studies, among which were delicate
experiments showing the lateral displacement of lines in the solar
spectrum arising from the Sun's rotation. In the Annals of the Nice
Observatory he published a great atlas consisting of thirty-three maps,
exhibiting in quadruplicate a subdivision of the solar spectrum under
varied conditions of weather and zenith distance. He also studied the
spectrum of the great comet of 1882, and by the displacement of its
lines estimated that the comet was receding from the Earth at the rate
of from sixty-one to seventy-six kilometers per second. The Leland
prize was awarded to Thollon for a hand drawing he made of the
prismatic spectrum obtained with bisulphide of carbon prisms of high
dispersive power.
The character and reputation of these men, as well as others who have
been quoted in these pages, must be weighed against the few who, not
content with denying the existence of the _canali_ in Mars, have in
strong language abused those who accept them as veritable markings on
the planet's surface.
XVII
LAST WORDS
_The uniformity of the course of Nature will appear as the
ultimate major premise of all inductions._
JOHN STUART MILL.
The final question is, do the lines as depicted and described by
various observers exist on the surface of Mars? Those who have made the
greatest addition to our knowledge of the character of these lines,
and have constructed maps based on Martian latitude and longitude are
accredited on other grounds as being endowed with remarkable acuteness
of vision coupled with persistence and painstaking care in observation.
The most successful work has been accomplished with instruments of fine
definition in regions of steady atmosphere and high altitude, or at
intervals of clarity and steadiness in regions otherwise unfavorable.
Finally, and most convincing of all, Mr. Lowell's assistant, Mr.
Lampland, after many attempts has succeeded in photographing the more
conspicuous linear markings. _The lines do exist essentially as
figured by Schiaparelli and Lowell._ It now rests with the objectors
to suggest any better interpretation of the markings of Mars than that
they are the results of intelligent effort.
The mediæval attitude of some astronomers regarding this question
recalls the story of Scheiner, a Jesuit brother, who, independently
of Galileo and Fabricius, discovered spots on the Sun. Eager with
enthusiasm he informed his Superior of his remarkable discovery and
begged to be allowed to publish it to the world. The Superior replied,
"Go, my son; tranquilize yourself and rest assured that what you take
for spots on the Sun are the faults of your glasses or of your eyes."
This happened three hundred years ago, and yet to-day a few astronomers
of this class still survive.
If one will calmly reason about the matter, let him consider a parallel
case of interpretation. He digs out from the ground a fragment of
stone; its somewhat symmetrical shape suggests to him the idea that it
may be a rude stone implement. If he wishes to know what kind of rock
it is and its geological age, he refers it to a geologist; if he wishes
to know its composition, he asks a mineralogist, who, if necessary,
will analyze it for him. If, however, he is curious to know whether
its peculiar, fractured surface is due to frost or other natural
agency, or whether it is the work of some rude savage, he inquires of
an archæologist, who alone will be able to tell him whether it is a
worked stone or natural fragment. He will probably tell him whether
it was shaped by paleolithic man, and whether it is a rough stone
implement or a core, _reject_ or chip. So with the study of Mars, as
we have already pointed out, there are certain matters of information
about the planet which the astronomer alone can impart, while the
superficial markings are just as certainly to be interpreted by another
class of students who may or not be familiar with astronomical methods.
* * * * *
It was quite natural that astronomers, the most conservative of all
classes of observers, should have doubted the first announcement
of Schiaparelli of the startling discovery of the _canali_ marking
the face of the planet, the more so as year after year went by and
yet with the utmost efforts of astronomers nothing of the nature of
Schiaparelli's lines could be seen.
What added greatly to the doubt about the lines, and at the same
time strengthened the idea that the lines were illusory, was the
subsequent announcement by Schiaparelli--undeterred by the universal
skepticism--that at times the lines appeared double. What more
convincing evidence could be offered than that the phenomenon was
purely subjective?
A few astronomers expressed their doubts in a courteous though
hesitating manner. Professor Young, in his valuable text-book,
"Elements of Astronomy" (1890), in correctly reporting Schiaparelli's
discovery says: "He is so careful and experienced an observer that
his results cannot be lightly rejected; and yet it is not easy to
banish a vague suspicion of some error or illusion, partly because his
observations have thus far received so little confirmation from others,
and partly because his 'canals' are so difficult to explain. They can
hardly be _rivers_, because they are quite straight; nor can they be
_artificial_ water-ways since the narrowest of them are forty or fifty
miles wide. To add to the mystery, he finds that at certain times many
of them become _doubled_,--the two which replace the former single one
running parallel to each other for hundreds, and sometimes thousands,
of miles, with a space of 200 or 300 miles between them. He thinks that
this _gemination_ of the canals follows the course of the planet's
seasons."
The overpowering belief that this world alone sustained creatures of
intelligence formed an obstructive barrier to any and all attempts
made to uphold--at least by analogy--the idea of intelligence in other
worlds. One cannot but regret that some philosopher had not, years
before Schiaparelli's time, expressed the conviction that Mars might
perhaps be more favorable to the existence of intelligent life than our
own world, and with this conviction proceed to formulate the conditions
which must of necessity exist: namely, that the planet being a much
older world than ours, its waters had mostly vanished by chemical
combination with the rocks and otherwise. Following this assumption,
the philosopher might have insisted that in the last extremity the
melting snow caps would be utilized by the supposed intelligences to
furnish water for potable and irrigating purposes. The philosopher
might have superadded to this idea the prediction that, when telescopes
were strong enough and eyes were keen enough, evidence of the truth
of this supposition would be found in canals of some sort and that
such lines should be carefully sought for. Fancy the exultation of
Schiaparelli when at last he found the lines precisely as indicated.
Such an announcement from so distinguished an astronomer would have
been hailed with acclaim. Alas! for the conservatism of astronomers,
such powers of prevision are sadly wanting. Le Verrier's prediction
of an outer planet was a matter of dead certainty. The perturbations
of Uranus could not be accounted for except by the assumption of an
outside body, and had it not been for the characteristic reserve of
English astronomers, Adams might have had the full credit. So rare
are predictions of this nature in the history of astronomy that this
instance will probably be quoted to the end of time. The masses,
still ignorant of the certainty of mathematical astronomy, regard the
prediction of an eclipse as in the nature of a prophecy. The liberal
attitude of naturalists stands in marked contrast, and the history
of their work is filled with examples of prediction and repeated
confirmations. Until the middle of the last century--grounded in the
belief of special creation--how wonderfully rapid was the conversion
of naturalists to the theory of evolution after Darwin had offered his
rational views on the subject. The existence of forms was predicted,
based on the idea of evolution, and these have been found again and
again. Our museums display in their cases remains of fossil animals
which complete many series undreamed of in pre-Darwinian days. This
wonderful work has been accomplished without resort to algebraic
formulæ, and yet when mathematics can be applied, as it is in the law
of variation, quantitative studies in heredity, and statistical methods
generally, it is promptly seized upon by the biologist.
* * * * *
To one unconvinced of the existence of some signs of intelligent
activity in Mars the suggestions that have been made to account for
certain appearances in the planet will seem absurd. If, on the other
hand, he finds himself in agreement with those who believe the markings
are the result of intelligent effort, then he is justified in using the
various artificial markings of the surface of the Earth as standards of
comparison in explaining the many curious markings of Mars. Indeed, he
is compelled to do so, just as would be demanded of him if he should
stand on some high mountain peak in some hitherto unexplored region
of Africa and should minutely scan the hazy stretch of plains below.
Large white spots in equatorial regions which could not possibly be
snow-covered hills, might be masses of white flowers or cloth-covered
areas for the better cultivation of certain plants. Lines that dimly
stretched across the surface might be rivers, cañons, rifts, or bands
of irrigation, according to their character.
As we compare the circular markings on the Moon with our terrestrial
craters and fissures, and cracks on its surface with similar fissures
on the Earth, so we are forced to compare the markings on the surface
of Mars with what seems analogous to them on the surface of our own
Earth.
Once proved that the markings of Mars are due to erosion, cracks,
encircling meteors big enough to raise ridges by their attractive
force, then all that has been written in demonstration of their
artificial character goes for naught. The intelligent reader
unprejudiced in the matter will, however, judge for himself the
merits of our contention and will determine the reasonableness of the
comparisons that have been made by Lowell in solving the mystery of
Mars.
INDEX
Algebraic formulæ, 73.
American astronomers, Holden, Pickering, Young, Swift, Comstock,
Barnard, Wilson, drew the more conspicuous canals, 65.
Ancient irrigation, 115.
Ants surviving at high altitudes, 157;
unique intelligence, 156.
Astronomer's chief work, 74;
conservatism, 75.
Astronomers who have seen the canals, 83.
Astronomical subjects remote from Martian studies, 72.
Atmosphere and moisture, Barnard and others, 134, 135;
Sir Robert Ball, 137.
Austria's care of water, 117.
Ball, Sir Robert, difficulties of observation, 84;
life on Mars quite likely, 68, 69;
objection to Mars being inhabited, 121.
Barbour, W. D., with a four inch achromatic, 88.
Barnard's, Dr., description of dark regions, 43.
Bees, wasps, and ants, 156.
_Canali_ supposed to mean canals, 39.
Canals appear double, 41;
artificiality of, 42;
as distinct as engraved lines, 59;
chain of reasoning in regard to, 47;
double, 41;
of Mars, 40;
unchangeable in position, 42.
Cassini, 33.
Chandler's oscillation of pole, 126.
Checkerboard appearance of West, 48.
Clerke's, Agnes M., expressions, 55.
Clouds in Mars, 139;
in Mars, Sir Norman Lockyer, 136.
Comments and criticism, 125.
Committee of British Astronomical Association, 126.
Conception of life in other worlds, 17.
Conservatism of astronomers, 185.
Cracks all of the same nature, 108;
discontinuous, 109;
in asphalt pavement, 109.
Cultivation under cloth, Porto Rico, 50.
Dark regions not seas, 45.
Dawes, remarkable distinctness of vision, 89.
De la Rive, memoir of Faraday, 76.
Denning's, Mr., testimony, 56, 57.
Difficulties of seeing, 79.
Dighton Rock, 97.
Draper, Dr. Henry, "Are other worlds inhabited?" 87;
difficulties of seeing, 87;
high altitudes for telescopes, 88.
Drawings of Mars by different observers, 98.
Dust storms in Mars, 140.
Earth, a standard, 25, 26, 186;
early ideas regarding the, 7;
improbability of its being unique, 13.
Earth's distance from the sun, 11;
temperature above normal, 37.
Emerson's expressions, 21.
England's unsteady atmosphere, 84.
Epicyclic theory of Ptolemy, 8.
"Evolution of the Solar System," T. J. J. See, 23.
Failure of water in England, 116.
Faraday's, Michael, attitude, 76.
Fauth, Dr. Phil., 63;
drawings of Mars, 63.
First look at Mars, 80.
Fison's, Mr., comments, 97.
Flammarion's picture of the Earth from Mars, 169;
work on Mars, 51.
Fruit trees, Santa Clara Valley, 49.
Gill's, Sir David, testimony, 90.
Hebraic conceptions, astronomers imbued with, 21.
Hebraic conceptions of the universe, 8.
Herschel, Sir John, on snow caps, 76.
High altitudes favorable to health, 152.
Holden, E. S., on nebula of Orion, 96.
Howe's, Herbert A., remarks, 65, 66.
Huxley's estimate of mathematicians, 74.
Huyghens, 32.
Ice caps of Himalaya, 115.
Iles, George, illustration of cooling bodies, 25.
Illusions, supposes, 59.
Irrelevant criticism, 126.
Irrigation, ancient in Arizona, in Egypt, in India, 145;
marvels of, 143;
notes on, 141.
Joly's, Dr. J., theory, 100.
Keeler's definition of astrophysics, 77.
Lampland, photographs of Mars, 32.
Ledger's, Rev. E., canals of Mars, 131.
Liberal attitude of naturalists, 185.
Life at high altitudes, 150;
in other worlds, Garrett P. Serviss, 148;
under atmospheric pressure, 153.
Lindsay's, Thomas, expressions, 55.
Lines of artificial character, 112.
Lockyer, Sir Norman, saw clouds in Mars, 136.
Lockyer's, W. J., testimony, 89.
Lowell, Percival, brief sketch of, 174;
different telescopes used by, 82;
gives reason why canals cannot always be seen, 93;
his acute eyesight, 85, 86;
his book on Mars, 31;
his various publications, 31;
long practice in observing, 85;
snow caps prove atmosphere, 135;
on life on Mars, 32, 67;
on twilight atmosphere in Mars, 34.
Lung capacity, 155;
at high altitudes, 152.
Macpherson, Hector, Jr., agrees with Lowell, 68.
Mars, appearance of Earth from, 118;
beginning of life in, 16;
canals, 40;
canals continuous, 109;
dark regions change with the season, 38;
dark regions not seas, 37;
desert lands, 39;
detached fields of snow, 37;
disappearance of southern snow cap, 37;
distance from sun, 12;
double canals, 45, 46;
drawings of, coincided, 81;
glints of brilliant light, 37;
has it water? 35;
has life appeared in? 15;
life in, from analogy, 15;
much like the world, 16;
nearest approach to earth, 32;
oases, 44;
seasonal changes in, 34;
seasons, 33;
rarefaction of atmosphere in, 35;
rotation of, Cassini, 33;
temperature of, 35;
terminator of, Douglass, 35;
those who see and those who do not see, 85;
tilt of axis, 33;
white polar caps, 33.
Maunder, director of committee, 126.
Maunders's, E. W., comments, 103.
Maunier, Stanislaus, on canal doubling, 119.
Maxwell, Clerk, on mathematicians, 74.
Mediæval attitude of some astronomers, 181.
Michel, Louise, teaching children, 73.
Morehouse, George W., believes Mars is inhabited, 67, 68.
My own work, 158.
Newcomb's, Professor, opinion, 24;
other worlds inhabited, 28;
"Reminiscences," 27.
Number of acres under irrigation, 122.
Observations of Mars, 1st period, 51;
2d period, 52;
3d period, 53;
4th period, Lowell's work, 54.
Orr's, J., theory, 102.
Parallel case of interpretation, 181.
Patterson's, John A., expressions, 56.
Perrotin, brief sketch of, 177.
Perrotin and Janssen describes the canals, 63;
and Thollon, 58.
Perrotin's painstaking care, 63, 64.
Phillips', Rev. Theo. E. R., drawing, 62.
Pickering, W. H., canals seen by, 63;
shows importance of steady atmosphere, 87;
observations in Jamaica by, 88;
polariscope observations by, 36-38;
theory of, 105.
Planetology, 77.
Plurality of worlds, astronomer's belief in, 18;
Edward Hitchcock's views of the, 21;
Flammarion's views of the, 19;
Newcomb's attitude in regard to the, 28;
Newcomb's belief in the, 29;
O. M. Mitchell's views in regard to the, 19;
Sir David Brewster's views of the, 17;
Sir Richard Owen's views in regard to the, 19;
Tyndall's views of the, 22.
Polar snow cap, proof deduced from Lowell, Douglass, and
Pickering, 135.
Profound changes by man, 123.
Railroads in Iowa and Texas, 142.
Review of Lowell's book, 66.
Rift in Southern Africa, 112.
Schiaparelli, abstemiousness when observing, 84;
brief sketch of, 172;
canals artificial, 62;
_canali_ natural, 60;
discovery, 57;
discovery of canals, 39;
does not deny intelligence in Mars, 60;
suggestion as to doubling, 120.
Sea, so-called, land areas, 39.
Seasonal changes, 136.
Snow storms in Mars, W. H. Pickering, 138.
Solar system a standard for universe, 26.
Stars, bright points of light, 7;
similar to our sun, 9.
Stetefeldt's, C. A., views, 129.
Study of planetary markings, 70.
Sun and planets reduced to minute scale, 11.
Temperature under which man exists, 149.
Terby, Dr., identifies many canals, 64.
Theories regarding canals, 100.
Thollon, brief sketch of, 178.
Titles of papers in astronomical journals, 71.
Todd, Professor, says canals result of design, 68.
Turner, H. H., "Astronomical Discovery," 78;
on the difficulties of seeing, 91.
Tycho Brahe, 8.
Tyndall on imagination, 77.
Tyndall's expressions on the Nebular Theory, 15;
reference to Nebular Theory, 24.
Unfolding of plant life on the earth, 45.
Variation in drawings by different observers, 94, 95;
of Milky Way, 95;
of Nebula of Orion, 95;
of Solar Corona, 95, 96.
Variety of conditions under which life exists, 147.
Vastness of the universe, 10.
Wallace, Alfred Russel, human paradox, 29;
review of, in London "Nature," 18.
Water vapor, no spectroscopic proof of, Campbell, 135.
Webb's, Rev. T. W., difficulties of seeing, 91, 92.
What the Martians might say of us, 166.
White spots in equatorial regions of Mars, 48.
White weed in New England, 49.
Williams, A. Stanley, difficulty in observation, 82.
Would the work of man show in Mars? 122.
Young, C. A., on snow caps, 76, 126;
on Schiaparelli's discovery, 183.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Some of our readers may not know that light travels, in round
numbers, at the rate of 186,000 miles a second.
[2] The terminator represents the limit of light on that side of the
planet in the shade, in other words, where the light terminates. In
viewing the Moon, when at quarter or half, the terminator is seen very
ragged on account of the illumination of higher points on the surface.
If the Moon was as smooth as a billiard ball the terminator would be
clear cut.
[3] The world in its ignorance of Italian assumed that the word meant
exclusively canals, and, if canals, then dug by shovels. What! a canal
thirty miles wide and two thousand miles long dug in the snap of the
finger? Impossible conception, you say. We shall see later the sober
utterances of a member of the British Astronomical Society on this
gratuitous assumption, and an equally serious comment by the chief
assistant of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich (E. S. M.).
[4] The views so long held that the dark shaded regions were bodies
of water, or seas, was disproved by the observations of Pickering
and Douglass, who distinctly traced the course of the canals across
these dark areas. The observations of Dr. E. Barnard certainly sustain
the contention that they are land areas and probably depressions,
representing ancient ocean beds. Dr. Barnard, using the telescope at
the Lick Observatory, says: "Under the best conditions these dark
regions which are always shown, with smaller telescopes, of nearly
uniform shade, broke up into a vast amount of very fine details. I
hardly know how to describe the appearance of these 'Seas' under these
conditions. To those, however, who have looked down upon a mountainous
country from a considerable elevation, perhaps some conception of the
appearance presented by these dark regions may be had. From what I know
of the appearance of the country about Mt. Hamilton, as seen from the
Observatory, I can imagine that, as viewed from a very great elevation,
this region, broken by cañon, and slope and ridge, would look like the
surface of these Martian seas."
[5] Sterling Heiley, in "Pearson's Magazine," June, 1905.
[6] A translation of which may be found in the "Popular Science
Monthly," Vol. XXXV, p. 532.
[7] I may add that in a similar case an American student of Mars moved
his telescope to Mexico and remounted it at a cost of some thousands of
dollars.
Transcriber's Notes:
Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant
preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.
Simple typographical errors were corrected; occasional unbalanced
quotation marks retained; inconsistent hyphenation retained.
Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained.
Page 146: Quotation mark preceding 'The sale value' has no matching
closing mark.
Page 192: "Stetefelt's" is spelled "Stetefeldt" on page 129. The latter
is correct.
Page 192: "Tycho Brahe" probably should be indexed as "Brahe, Tycho".
End of Project Gutenberg's Mars and its Mystery, by Edward Sylvester Morse