The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-08-09
INTERPLANEr SIGNALING.
A Woman's Prize of $4,000 for the
Person Who shall Find a Way.
From the Chicago Tribune.

Person Who shall Find a Way.
From the Chicago Tribune.
A Paris oablegram says a French nun has
bequeathed 100000 francs to the Academy
Of Science, to be given as prize to any one
who shall discover any means of commu-
nicating with another world, planet or star.
The planet Mars was suggested in the will
as the most convenient heavenly body on
which to make the experiment.
This proposition may seem ridiculous,
but IL is not any more so than the idea of
James Lick, the founder of the Lick OBJ
servatory," said a man well versed in starry
lore
The Lick bequest to build the great tele-
scope was intended to establish the fact
whether or not the moon is inhabited. Now
let US consider the difficulties IN the way Of
this project. The distance of the earth
from the moon may be stated in round
numbers as $40, 900 miles. 1t is fact rec
oRnized in military science that man can
be fairly distinguished by the eye at a miles
distance. In making calculations regard
ing vision it is the general rule to estimate
that to be seen a mile away an object must
be half yard wide. The best telescope has
a magnifying power of 1000 diameters.
Half the distance to the moon is 100 900
miles. Divide this by 1900, the magnify
ing power of the glass, and you get sixty
yards as the minimum size OF an object in
the moon from the earth. So an object
must be 1S0 feet wide or thick to be more
than an apprectable dot. have made the
most liberal allowance IN this computation.
The atmospheric conditions must be perfect,
and z, 900 is an unusually high power to be
used by an astronomer.
''If an object must be $50 feet thick to be
seen from the earth On the moon, 1t would
ho hast 10 be H. rxix h.
inhabitants Of the moon an idea that there
are intelligent beings on earth. it would be
necessary to place. say, three objects in
view of the moons people-let them re-
main for q time arranged at the angles Of a
triangle. Then they might be changed 30
as to be in straight line. The man In the
moon, seeing these phenomena, might con-
olude that there were intelligent beings on
earth and arrange for some corresponding
signal TO the inhabitants of earth. But,
while this seems possible, it shows how pre-
posterous would be the attempt to deter
mine with the most powerful telescope now
in use whether the moon is inhabited.
Nov, as to the proposed communication
with Mars. At the time when Mars and
the earth are nearest to each other-are in
perihelion-the distance is in round NUM-
bers So, 10000 Of miles. Take half this dis
lance and you have II, 500 600 as the num-
Der of yards that represents the size of an
object in Mars that could be seen that dis
lance with the naked eye. Divide this by
1900. the power of tbs biggest telescope,
aud you have 8, $50, the size of the smallest
object plainly discernible a. such distance
with the telescope. This Is equal to about
five miles.
Gan object in the planet Mars could be
perceived as little larger than a dot with
the aid of the largest refractor and under
the most favorable, in fact absolutely per-
feet atmospheric and other conditions, il it
was five miles In diameter. This is when
the planet is nearest to us. On the other
hand, at that time nothing on the earth
could be discerned from Mars, because the
earth would be in a straight line between
the two and in the blaze Of the suns light
An inhabitant of that planet would
have to wait until the earth was
in some other part of its orbit, and
the distance between the earth and
Mars would then he many times as great as
in perihelion. So it would be necessary to
construct an object, to be discernable on
the earth from Mars, say twenty miles in
diameter. 1t might be circular in form.
Other structures not inferior in size would
have to be erected at distances of not less
than twenty miles from each other. Then,
after these had remained for a time, their
relative positions might be changed. These
bodies, moreover, to be clearly distinguished
from the surface of Mars. must be intensely
luminous. A solid ball of electric light
twenty miles in diameter would suffice.
Considering the size Of the structures re-
uuired, their distance from each other, and
the necessity of changing their places to
indicate to a man in Mars that these lumin-
GUS structures were the result of intelligent
action are not natural phenomena The
sum bequeathed by the French nun may be
seen to be greatly inadequate. The
Academy of sciences at Paris may for this
reason refuse to accept the bequese Ii the
sum were offered for a prize essay on some
plan for accomplishing communication
With a sister sphere it would be more rea.
sonable.
I'm all the above computations it must
not be forgotten that all the conditions must
be favorable, the atmosphere as well as the
relative positions of the earth and Mars
Such conditions happen only once in a great
while"