The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1877-10-25
Some SpeculatiOns About Mars Moons.

We shall assume, then, that in the
outer of the two newly-discovered sate-
lites of Mars the diameter turns out to
be (say) just twenty miles, that the
density and surface of this satellite is,
in other respects, not unlike that OF
Mars itself, that it is surrounded by an
atmosphere, and that organized beings
as rational as men live upon it, and
then we shall Just consider few other
of the vast differences which the great
difference in magnitude between such a
satellite and our own Earth would bring
with it. .s. The weight of any
given object on its surface Gf we as
sumo its consistency to be about the
same as that of the Earth and Mars,
which do not greatly differ in density
would be about four hundred times less
than its weight on the surface of the
Earth, so that the atmosphere which
we assume it to have would necessarily
be much a rarer and also a much
more widely extended atmosphere than
any known to us. 1t is, of course, the
attraction of the Earth which keeps
our atmosphere so closely packed as it
is. Diminish greatly that attraction,
and its particles would fly much wider
apart, as indeed they do, as you APP
proach the tops of high mountains.
But if the atmosphere we've far less
dense, the clouds which it would have
to carry, and the birds which used it for
their flight, would also weigh so vastly
less, that it would probably be as SER
viceable for these purposes as before.
Nevertheless, for the purpose of stor-
ing and retaining the warmth of the
sun, such an atmosphere would not an
swer at all the same purposes as ours,
but would differ as much as thin sheet
differs from warm blanket. Still
more difficult is it to conceive how the
architecture of such planet would be
managed. The weight of materials
has Of course much to do with their
solidity, but with weights four hundred
times less, it is hard to conceive even q
one-storied house holding together
against any serious lateral blows.
And yet, though in such world the
falls would be comparatively light,
since the force of gravity would be it
self so minute, there would be no rea-
son to suppose that the projectiles
would be less deadly than in our own.
Indeed, as the downward pull would be
less, the range attained by any given
projectile force, such as that due to
,kindled gunpowder, would be greater,
and Krupp cannon, for instance,
would probably send its charge to a
much greater distance, both because the
resisting medium through which it
passed would be less, and because the
attraction of the little planet would not
be sufficient to bring it so soon to the
ground. Hence while the cohesion of
the earthworks of such world would be
far smaller than here, the rending lat
eral pressures might be expected often
to be greater, and to the engineer and
the architect educated only in such q
world as ours this must suggest very
difficult problems. s.s
On the other hand, the athletes of
such world, if endowed with anything
like the same mechanical powers as we
are, would surprise us by their high
Jumps. The Guy Livingstones of such
. world, and the horses which they rode,
would find it as easy, perhaps, to jump
q mountain as ours do to jump q five
barred gate. London Spectator.