The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1877-11-01
Mars.

out by the manufacturer.
Mars.
TProf, R. A. Proctor St. Eicholas.I
When Galileo turned toward Mars the
telescope with which he had discovered
the moons of Jupiter, the crescent form
of Venus, and many other wonders in
the heavens, he was altogether disap-
pointed. His telescope was indeed too |
small to show any features of interest in
Mars, though the planet of war is much
nearer to us than Jupiter. Mars is but |
a small world. The diameter of the
planet is about four thousand four hun |
dred miles, that of our earth being
nearly eight thousand. Jupiter, though
much farther away, has his immense di-
ameter of more than eighty thousand
miles to make up, and much more than
make up, for the effect of distance.
With this noble system of moons he ap-
pears remarkable object even with
small telescope, but Mars shows fewer
features of interest even with telescopes
of considerable size.
II was not, then, till very powerful
telescopes had been constructed that
astronomers learned what we know about
Mars.
1t is found that his surface is divided
into land and water, like the surface of
our own earth. But his seas and oceans
are not nearly so large compared with
his continents and lands. You know
| that on our own earth the water covers
so much larger a surface than the land
| that the great continents are in reality
| islands. Europe, Asia and Africa to-
gether form one great island; North
and South America another, not quite
so large; then come Australia, Green
land, Madagascar, and SO forth; all the
lands being islands, larger or smaller.
On the other hand, except the Caspian
Sea and the sea of Aral, there are no
large seas entirely land-bound. In the
case of Mars very different state of
things prevails, as you will see from the
three accompanying pictures (hitherto
unpublished), drawn by the famous
English observer, Dawes (called the
Eag gle-eyed). The third and best was
drawn with a telescope constructed by
your famous optician, Alvan Clark, of
Cambridge, Massachusetts,. The dark
parts are in the seas, the light parts be-
ing land, or in some cases cloud or snow.
But in these pictures most of the lighter
portions represent land for they have
been seen often so shaped, whereas
; clouds, of course, would change in
shape.
The planet Mars, like our earth, turns
on its axis, so that it has day and night
as we have The length of its day is moi
very different from that Of our own day
Our earth turns once on it axis in =
but before reading on, try to complet,
: this sentence for yourself. Every on,
knows that the earth's turning on it
axis produces day and night, and nin'
persons out of ten, if asked how long th,
earth takes in turning round her axis
> will answer twenty-four hours and i
asked how many times she turns on he
axis in year, will say 365 times, or j
disposed to be very exact, "about 365
E times" But neither answer is correct
L The earth turns on her axis about 366
times in each year, and each turning oc
cupies twenty-three hours ffty-six min
utes and four seconds and one-tenth O
a second. We, taking the ordinary da
|. as the time of a turning or rotation
|, lose count of one rotation each year.
:; is necessary to mention this, in orde
k that when 1 tell you how long the da
of Mars is, you may be able correctly t
n compare it with our own day. Mar:
r then, turns on his axis in twenty-fou
d hours thirty-seven minutes TWENTY-FIVE
It seconds and seventeenth parts of set
g ond. So that Mars requires forty-on
a minutes eighteen seconds and sixteenth
of second longer to turn his sma
n body once round than our earth require
N to turn her much larger body. Th
J; common day of Mars is, however, onl
d about thirty-nine minutes longer tina
k our common day.
70 Mars has a long year, taking no le
te than six hundred and eighty-seven {
Is our days to complete his circuit aroun
,r the sun, so that his year lasts only abol
a one month and half less than two
Ye ours.
Like the earth, Mars has seasons, fl
ul his polar axis, like that of the earth,
n aslant, and at one part of his ye;
al brings his northern regions more full
ry into sunlight, at which time SUNNI
ID prevails there and winter in his sout
it ern regions when at the opposite part
,d his year his southern regions are turnt
yo more fully sunward and have their SUI
If. mer, while winter prevails over b
n northern regions.
lis Around his poles, as around tt
yo earth's, there.are great masses of ice, i
r; somuch that it is very doubtful wheth
n, any inhabitants of Mars have been alb
to penetrate to his poles, any more ths
r. Kane or Hayesor Mares or Parry, despi
ai their courage and endurance, have be,
5a able to reach our northern pole, or Coz
20 or Wilkes or James Ross our antarct
a+ pole.
ba In the summer of either hemisphe
od of Mars, the north polar SHOWS becon
NJ greatly reduced in extent, as is natur:
VI while in winter they reach to low la
b be tudes, showing that in parts of the plan
to corresponding to the United States,
20 mid-Europe, as to latitude, bitter co
~ Gust prevail for several weeks in su
cession. --~-----
Mrs. HEMAN's poem beginnin
AZ "The boy stood on the burning deck
-, is familiar to every schoolboy; but t
VI vi history of the little hero thus immc
tn tn talized is not so generally known. Ow
W Casabianca, a native of Corcsia, W
born in 1888. His father was dist
ly guished French politician and nav
ey commander, and his mother beau
IL, full Corcsian lady. But she died youn
vn and little Owen went with his father
in serve in war vessel. He was ma
re midshipman, and at the early age of t.
ar participated with his father in the b.
in tie of the Nile. The ship caught fl
during the action, and Captain Casa1
anca, wounded, was lying insensit
We upon the deck, while the brave be
III unconscious of his fathers fate, held |
ey post at the battery. The flames rag
'ue' around him; the crew fed one by OF
ooiii and urged the lad do the same; but
'ra eu refused to desert his post, and fought