The Red Cloud chief., 1877-11-08

AZ ~
Westminster Abbey. Cecilia Cleue
land, in St. Nicholas.
Mars.
When GaiileO turned toward Mar
the telescope with which he had discov
cred the moons of Jupiter, the crescen
form Of venus, and many other wonder:
in the heavens, he was altogether dis
appointed. His telescope was indeed
too small to show any features of inter
est in Mars, though the planet of wal is
much nearer to Us than Jupiter. Mars
is but q small world. The diameter OF
the planet is abou: AGO miles, that OF
our earth being nearly 5000. Jupiter,
though much farther away, has his i'm.
mense diameter of more than $4,000
miles to make up, and much more than
make up. for the effect of distance.
With his noble system of moons he ap-
pears a remarkable object even with a
small telescope, but Mars shows fewer
features of interest even with telescopes
of considerable size.
1t was not, then, till very powerful
telescopes had been constructed that
astronomers learned what we now
know about Mars.
1t is found 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 on
our own earth the water covers so much
larger surface than the land that the
great continents are in reality islands.
Europe, Asia and Africa together form
one great island; North and South
America another, not quite so large;
then come Australia, Greenland, NADIA
gascar, and so forth; all the lands being
islands. larger or smaller. On the other
hand, except the Caspian and the Sea
of Aral, there are no large e entirely
land bound. In the cas- of Mars, a 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pictures hithertO unpublished), drawn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 Eagle-eyed. The third and
best was drawn with a telescope con
structed by your famous Optician, Al
al Clark, of Cambridge, Massachu-
sets. The dark parts are the seas, the |
light parts being 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 1T has day and night
as we have. The length of its day is
not very different from that of our own.
Our earth turns Once on its axis in
but before reading on, try TO complete
this sentence for yourself. Every one
knows the earth's turning on it's axis
produces day and night, and nine per.
sons out of ten, if asked how long the
earth takes in turning round her axis,
answer, "a hours; and if asked
how many times she turns on her axis
a year. will say 365 times, or if dis.
disposed to be very exact, about 365L
But neither answer is correct.
The earth turns on her axis about 3661
in each year, and each turning
occupies % hours Sc minutes anG 4 sec
)nds and l tenth of a second. We, TAX
ng the ordinary day as the time of a
.urning or rotation, lose count of one
'Otation each year. 1t is necessary to
mention this, in order that when l tell
'ou how long the day of Mars is, you
nay be able correctly to compare it with .
'ur own day. Mars, then, turns on his
'xis in "A hours 81 minutes % seconds
md Z tenth-parts of a second. So that .
dars requires Al minutes IS seconds i;
md 8 tenths Of a second longer to turn ,
lis small body once round than our :
arth requires to turn round her much g
anger body. The common day of Mars =
3, however, only about 50 minutes lon =
'er than our common day. D.,
Mars has a long year, taking no less ;
han 6s7 our days to complete his cir .
nit round the sun, so that his year lasts =
My about one month and a half less ,
han two of ours. :;
Like the earth, Mars has seasons, for
is polar axis, like that of the earth, is
and at one part of his year brings
is northern regions more fully iato Il
nnlight, at which time summer pre- c
ails there and winter in his southern d
when at the opposite part of b
is year his southern regions are turned h
lore fully sunward and have their s,
lmmer, while winter prevails over his 7
orthern regions. ci
Around his poles a around the earth's b
iere are great masses of ice, insomuch re
lat it is very doubtful whether any di
Ihabitants of Mars have been able to a
,netrate to its poles, any more than OF
ane or Hayes OF Mares or Parry, des- ht
te their courage and endurance, have ca
zen able to reach our northern pole, or CT
,ok or Wilkes or James Ross our ant pr
cite pole.