The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-12-31

SCHlAPARELLlS' DISCOVERY CON-
FIRMEO BY OTHERS.

Supposed Artificial Water Courses DIS
covered in Mars by the Director of tue
Milan Observation-Disclosures of a
Startling Character.
The discovery Of q network Of so-called
canals upon the planet Mars by Schiapareli
several years ago las been confirmed this
year by observers both in England and Italy.
In 1877, Mars, being on the same side Of the
gun as TIE earth was, and in that part OF its
orbit which brought It unusually close to the
earth, shone with great splendor in the mid
night SKI. II was under these favorable cir
cumstances that Professor Hall, with the
huge telesco that had just been set up at
Washington, caught sight Of two small moons
revolving close around Mars, and moving SO
swiftly that they might almost be compared
10 little golden shuttles playing back and
forth or either side Of the rudy planets
disk The fame of this discovery was so
great, and the delight Of the astronomers,
who found here a new and totally unex-
pected test of the laws OF planetary motion,
so unbOunded, that another discovery, made
at the same time, received comparatively lit
tie attention. This other discovery, was the
work Of the keen eyed director of the Milan
observatory, u. SchiaparelI. He found
that the equatorial regions of Mars were in
tersected 10y long narrow lines which resem-
bled in color those spots that are believed to
be seas, and which began and ended in these
: Marian seas, thus indicating a close connec-
ton between Cnem.
The shape of the supposed water courses
suggested the name canals which was APP
piled to them. Some astronomers of reputa-
lion argued that they really were canals con-
StTucted by the supposititiOus inhabitants of
3ars: and to the objection rhg5 loe cspsls
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they could be artificial worBs-sOme being
sixty miles more broad-they replied that
since the force of gravity upon Mars is very
much less than upon the earth, the inhabit-
ants of that planet might attain proper
tiOnately greater stature and a muscular
power and agility that would enable them to
undertake works utterly beyond the capacity
of terrestrial men. This sort OF speculation
tended to bring Schiaparelli's really brilliant
discovery into derision particularly among
those whose telescopes did not reveal the
phenomena he had detected. But Schiaparelli
insisted that he had seen what he had seen,
and his discovery was defended by his well
established reputation as an observer.
In 1879, Mars being once more favOrably
situated, he saw his canals again, and dis
covered a number of new ones, and in the
fall and winter of 1912 he repeated his OBJ
servations. On these last two occasions he
made still more surprising discovery,
namely, that the canals or many of them
were double. Right alongside those which he
had seen before, and following the same sin
uosities, he detected new canals He made a
map of Mars on Mercator's projection, and in
this map the whole surface Of the planet.
cept in the polar regions, is seen covered with
a network of dark stripes running in pairs,
intersecting the continents in every direction
and invariably ending in the surrounding
seas.
The manner in which the doubling ,f the
canals was effected was not the least aston
ishing part of the discovery. They were not
all seen double at once. Schiapareli himself
suggested that the phenomenon depended in
some way upon the seasons of the planet.
One after another the canals would double
mp. No less than seventeen successively ex-
hibiteG this appearance in the course of a
siRgle month. The new canal would appear
at first as a faint streak. barely die"ernible
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