Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1888-01-13
THE CANALS OF MARS.
WHAT ASTRONOMER sCHlAPARELLl
SAW THROUGH HIS TELESCOPE.

Some Remarkable Appearances Which
He Noted--Is Mars NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
Which Seem to Call for an Affirma-
tive Answer.
It was in 1877 during favorable conjunc-
ton Of Mars-that is to say, at the time when
Mars was unusually near to the earth-that
Schiaparelli first saw the canals. 1t will be
reelected that in that same year Professor
Hall discovered the two tiny moons OF Mars
with the great telescope at Washington, an
instrument in comparison with which Schla-
parelli's telescope is a pigmy, and yet, SO far
as we are aware, the canals were never seen
with the Washington telescope. This TACT,
however. is by no means decisive, for in the
first place Schiaparellis telescope, though
comparatively small, is of acknowledged
great excellence; secondly, and more impor-
tant, the skies of Milan are incomparably
clearer and better suited to delicate telescope
observation than those of Washington; and
lastly, Schiapareli, who possesses exception
ally sharp vision, like the celebrated Dawes,
of England, was engaged in the special study
of the features of Mars surface when he
made the discovery. It may be added that
last year three observers-M. Perrotin and
NJ Pollon, at Nice, and Mr.. Denning, in Eng
land-succeeded in seeing the canals OF Schl-
aparelli, and detecting some of the excep'
tional appearances which he noted. When
| Schiaparelli first saw the canals i'll 1871 they
appeared as single lines, but subsequently he
! found them double. He even watched the
| process of doubling, which was a very GU
rious phenomenon. But we will let him speak
for himself, as quoted by M. Flammarion:
''There are upon that planet great dark
| lines traversing the continents, to which
| NAV be given the name of canals, although
| we do not vet know what they are. Various
| astronomers have already detected several OF
| them, notably Dawes in 1864 During the
last three oppositions I have made e. special
! study of them and have recognized a consld-
cradle number, more than sixty. These lines
| run from one to al her of the dark spots
that we regard as seas, an form well de-
fined network over the light or continental
| regions. Their position appears to be lnva-
riable and permanent, at least according to
the Judgment have been able to form by
four and half years of observation; never
theless their aspect and their degree OF vlsS-
bility are not always the same, and depend
upon circumstances which the present state
of cur knowledge does not yet permit us to
discuss with certainty. In 1879 many were
seen which were not visible in 1887, and in
1882 those that had already been seen were
detected again, accompanied by new ones.
Several of these canals present themselves
under the form of vague, shadowy lines,
while others are clear and sharp, like a mark
made by a pen. In general they are recti-
linear, that is to say, drawn upon the sphere
as lines of great circles. They cross one an
other obliquely, Or at right angles. They are
fully two degrees broad, or 100 kilometers,
and number extend over distance of eighty
degrees or 1880 kilometers
''Their color is very nearly that of the seas
Of Mars, but triae lighter Every canal
ends at it's two extremities in a sea or in
another canal; there is not single example
of one extremity ending in the middle of the
solid land That is not all. In certain sea-
sons these canals split up or, rather, become
double
'This phenomenon appears to occur at a
fixed time, and is produced simultaneously
over the whole extent of the continents OF
the planet No indication of it was shown
in 1877 during the weeks which preceded and
followed the southern solstice Of the world
A single isolated case was presented in 1879
the 26th of December in that year Ia little be-
fore the spring equinox, which occurred on
the 21st &C January, 1880, l remarked the
dividing OF the Nile between the Lake of the
Moon and the Ceraunique gulf. These two
regular markings, equal and parallel, caused
| me, | admit, profound surprise, the greater
because some days before, the 23d and the
/ oath of December, l had observed with care
, this same region without perceiving any
7 thing of the kind I awaited with curiosity
} the return of the planet in 1881 in order tc
learn if any analogous phenomenon would
present itself, and l saw the same thing re
appear the 18th of January, 1882, month
after the spring equinox of the planet (Which
occurred on the Sth Of December, 1851; ths
division was still more evident at the end Of
: February. On this same date, the 18th Of
7 January, another doubling manifested itself
5 that of the middle section of the Cyclops ca
r nal on the side of the Elysee.
S ''Greater yet was my astonshment when
: the 10Th of January, I saw the canal of ia
9 muna, which was then in the center Of the
e disk, divided very accurately into tive
D straight, parallel lines braversing the space
e which separates the Niliaque lake from tht
e Gulf of Aurora. At first l thought it to b
an illusion, caused by fatigue to the eye an6
+ q sort of strabismus of a new kind, but one
d must needs yield to the evidence After the
10Th of January simply passed from on'
surprise 10 etlOtueI' LII ouCCeSSiOn luo VI oli
9 ties, the Euphrates, the Phison, the GANGS
d and moro of the other canals showed them
S selves very clearly and incontestably split il
!, two. There were not less than twenty ex
g amples of doubling,
it SIN certain cases it has been possible to OBJ
n serve some precursory symptoms which ar
# not lacking in interest. Thus the 18th o
e January light and i'll defined shade extend
r ed along the Ganges; the 18th and 10Th onl.
series Of white spots was distinguishes
J. there; the 10th the Ganges showed itself IL
r the form of two indecsive parallel lines, anf
i the 21st the doubling was perfectly clear, a
% l observed it up to the Esd of February.
d ''These doublings are not an optical etfec
h depending upon the increase of visual power
IS as happens in the observation of double stars
Is and neither is it the canal which divides ltsel
n in two lengthwise. Notice what it is tina
% appears. to the right or left of a pre-exlstlnI
f. line, without any change In the course or pc
ir sition of that line, one sees another line pre-
If duced equal and parallel to the first, at dis
n lance varying generally from to - dogs
% that is to say, from $50 to 700 kilometers
h there even seem to be some produced sti
nearer, but the telescope is not powerfr
10 enough to enable one to distinguish ther
with certainty, Their tint is rather dar
" reddish brown These twin canals are rect
It linear Or very slightly curved. There
d nothing analogous in terrestrial geography
ST Everything points to the belief that it is
d peculiar periodical phenomenon of the plane
h. Mars, and intimately related to the course {
ST the seasons.
re- "Here, then, are observed facts; the il
lv crease in the distance Of the planet and til
Is prevalence of rains prevented the continu;
At tion of the observations after the end {
If February. It is difficult to decide quick
" upon the nature of that. geography, assn
y edly very different from that Of our world
"a New York Sun,