The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1877-08-23
MARS AND HIS SATELLITES.

TRIUMPH OF THE GREAT TELESCOPE OF THE
NAVAL observation-disclosures PIE
NoMKNA CONNECTED WITH THE DISCOVERY
WASHINGTON, August g, 1877.
The unusually fiery brightness Of this planet has
boon causing quite excitement here for a number
OF evenings past. We learn that Professor Asaph
Hail. OF the Naval Observatory, two nights ago. hay
ing turned upon It the powerful object glass OF tho
great twenty-six inch rcfractor, usually employed
upon the ncbulp and minor planets, discovered two
small satellites and has boon watching them the
attendants of Mars Who knows but that others may
DO found?
Up 10 this time astronomer has observed any Oh.
jcct appearing satellite tor Mars and III
want Of knowledge Of such has prevented anything
than approx i'm alton having ocen arrived at
for its mass. Nader is quoted in tho books az
making IL H. CSC. 800. and lie ysrrsr L2sss, 400
OF tho suu-somcthing OF a aiaefraee GER
tainiy. The. existence OF q, satellite, however
has boon rather inferred by astronomers through
analogy. Hyperion, the eighth satellite OF saturn
was discovered by Proicssor Bond nj Harvard
only few years ago. The second Of Jupitcrs moons
has diameter only onc-orty-third OF this primary.
aud satellite OF onc-foriy third Of the diameter o
Mars would be, perhaps, less than one hundred miles,
IL has been frequently sad therefore, that such an OBJ
ject would DO barely within reach OF our largest tcc
scopes The powerful object glass of twenty six inches
aperture OF the Naval Observatory seems 10 nave
solved tho problem.
LOOKOUT
Now that the obscr vatlons Of Professor Hall have
excited tho attention Of scent SITS aud CON
have boon sent to other obscrva cries there Will DO
watchiul aud exciting nights ut Harvard Albany
Clinton and Ann Arbor, at the last Of which Peters
and Watson perpcuaIy tho lookout for the dis
covcry Of astcr0d But this satellite OF Mars is
worth Of such.
Although Mars does not appear largo an object in
the telescope as Jupiter yet he Is In reality
much larger scale, not only because OF his SO much
greater nearncss to but because bong also ch
nearer to the his surface brightly illum-
mated, so that much higher telescope er can bc
advaniagoOusly employed in choosing The eycplass
Even Venus when to (in conjun CT opl tnan
Mars TN Oppostion) cannot he observed ike tho latter
because ,hon she has dark hemisphere toward us
II wonder that Mars mas been the favored object
Of observation by ASTRONOMERS tho lrgt do
lection OF IT'S strange snowy srcts by Fontana, Of Ma
pies, In 1913
wmAr THE Axorsxrs THOUGHT on MARS
Tho popular interest IN this planet has been quite
remarkable as that hold by astronomers. We know
that the un,n,eigcnt m some periods OF history have
mistaken him nj the time Of ono OF his brightest oppo-
stons Tor some new ncry orb ~ evil p0rtcnl Arago
says that tho astronomical sign OF The war planet
10 beloved to have been made np by tho Of
spear and ouckIer; that the Hebrews gave him
namo sgniiying con arr" wblc the Indian astrouo
mcrs know him by the word ipgaroko from apoara
burning coasl; th0t whenever the Greeks Romans
wanted to speak OF any Of the stars OF reddish hue
they TOOK Mars as their object OF comparison, cang
MIN tho Incandesccnt II Is certainly rcma rkablc,
says the great astronomer that tho lapse thousands
light which Mars reflects and which DO made
out Of tho material OF which some portions OF the
planet composed.
pKgsxsr POSITION OF rax PLANET.
The present extraordinarily fiery brightness Of Mars
VI Is we'll known, arises from hs being now nearly
opposition lIn reaches that point that say,
VIII DC the meridian, at mldugnt tho 9th OF next
mouth He Is to be observed Al present between The
II your telescope be powerful enough, the nowy dis
covered satellite may be found al distance Of from
twenty 10 ninety seconds In the "American Eautica