Arizona republican., 1891-10-03
A STRANGE REQUEST.
One That Will Put the Scientists
 in a Quandary.
The Novel Provision Made by a French Nun In HIT Will-A Fortune for the one Tha, Communicates with
 Another World

A recent Paris cablegram says French nun has willed l00 900 francs to the academy of science, to be given as g prize to anyone who shall discover any means of communicating with an other 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 ridic- ulous, but it is not any more so than the idea of James Lick, the founder of the Lick observatory" said man well yerScd in starry lore.
 The Lick bequcst to build the great telescope was intended to establish the fact whether not the moon isinhabited 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 240. 900 miles. It is fact recognized in mili- tary science that man can be fairly distinguished by the eye at a miles dis tance. In making calculations regard ing vision it is the general rule to esti- mate that to be seen mile away an ob- feet must be half yard wide. The best telescope has a magnifying power of 2.OOO diameters. Half the distance to the moon is l20,0 miles. Divide this by 2,000, the magnifying power of the glass, and you get sixty yards as the minimum size of an object in the moon dtscernible by the aid of the telescope from the earth. So an object must be ISO feet wide or thick to be more than an appreciable dot. I have made the most liberal allowances in this compu- tatIun. The atmospheric conditions must be perfect and 2,0OO is an unusual Iy high power to be used by working astronomer.
 If an object must be lS0 feet thick to be seen from the earth on the moon it would be best to make it 200 feet. To give the 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 remain for time ar runged atthe angles of a triangle. Then they might be changed so as to be in a NlINAE Ut lllANs | AAN III AiiN ihO'h NNN ing these phenomena might conclude that there were intelligent beings on earth and arrange for some correspond Ing signal to the inhabitants of earth. But while this seems possible it shows how pre- poSterous would bethe attempt tu determine with the most powerful telescope now in use whether the moon is inhabited.
 Now, as to the proposed communi- cation with Mars. At the time when Mars and the earth are nearest to each other-are in perihelion- the distance is in round numbers 35,000, 900 of miles. Take half this distance and you have l7,5OO,OOO as the number of yards that represents the size of an object in Mars that could be seen that distance with the naked eye. Divide this by 2,000, the power of the biggest telescope, and you have s.TjO as the size of the smallest ob- icct plainly discernible at such dis 'ance with the telescope. This is equal tO about five miles.
 An object in the planet Mars could be perceived as little larger than dot with the aid of the largest refrac- tor and under the most favorable, in fact absolutely perfect, atmospheric and other conditions if 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 disccrned from Mars, because the earth would be in 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 be many times as great as in perihelion. So it would be necessary to construct an object, to be discernible on the earth from Mars, say twenty miles in diameter. It might be circu- lar in form. Other structures not in feriOr in size would have to be erected at distances of not less than twenty miles from each other. Then after these had remained for time their relative positions might be changed These bodies, moreover, to be clearly dis tinguished 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 structure required, their distance from each other and the necessity of changing their places to indicate to man in Mars that these luminous structures were the re- suit of intelligent action are not natural phenomenal! The sum be- qucathed by the French nun may be seen to be greatly inadequate. The Aca- demy of Science at Paris may for this reason refuse to accept the bequest. If the sum were offered for prize essay on some plan for accomplishing com munication with sister sphere it would be more reasonable.
 Tn all the above computations it must not be forgotten that all the con dltlons must be favorable, the atmos- phcre as well as the relative positions "i the earth and Mars. Such perfect conditions happen only once in a great while"
 Mummy Factories.
 Collectors of Egyptian antiquities Will be interested in knowing that a