Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-08-06
MUCH YET TO LEARN.
Astronomers Only Beginning
to Penetrate the Mys.
teries of Mars.
SOME PUZZLING POINTS.
The Changeable Surfaces at the
Poles May Be Merely Clouds.
GREAT COST OF COMMUNICATION.
Riches of q Continent Needed to Provide
Adequate Signals.
THE LATEST FROM THE SCIENTISTS

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 5.-Prof Holden,
Of Lick Observatory, telegraphs as follows:
LICK OBSERVATORY, Aug. 3.
The circumstances are very favorable in
that the planet is unusually near to us. They
are rather unfavorable in that the planet is
very far south and therefore low down in
the sky and thus subject to atmospheric
disturbances. Future appostions in which
the planet will be seen in greater altitude
will be more favorable, even if the planet is
then considerably more distant.
OF course the ultimate object of all OBJ
servations is TO determine every possible
physical popularity of the object to be in
vestigated. If it is planet we wish to know
how nearly it resembles the earth, Snd
whether it is fit to be inhabited by beings
like ourselves. With respect to Mars, it has
been proposed by certain very enthusiastic
astronomers to determine the further Ques-
tion if the planet is actually inhabited, and
this is a more difficult and important ques-
tion than the mere inquiry as to whether it
is fit to be so inhabited.
Not Enough Observations Yet.
Inm my opinion, the time has not yet come
to even speculate on the larger question.
and my reason for saying this is that think
it very doubtful if all the observations made
numerous as they are, are at all sufficient to
enable us to pronounce the lesser inquiry.
1t is very easy and very convenient to call
certain areas on Mars land and to describe
indentfons as CULTS and canals, but so far
know, there is no absolute proof that the
dark, foggy parts of Mars are v.eritably
exists in the Martial atmosphere. The
spectroscope shows this, and there are GER
tain white areas at the poles of Mars which
look very much ike snow caps.
1t is commonly said that these wax and
Wane with the seas ms of Mars in such Il way
as to prove them to Se such. They certainly
wax and wane and wax again, but SO do
clouds, and am not yet satisfied that they
are not, in fact, merely clouds.
They may be snow and ice, but If so are
subject to extraordinary Manages, which L
have been observing here il. the past week.
1t is a curious commentary on the Difficult.
ties of drawing exact conclusions regarding
little planet few thousand miles in diam
steir and 10000, 600 miles away to say that
nearly every one OF the important appear
ances can be accounted for about as well by
supposfng the planet to be red hot and to
have very extensive atmosphere, as it can
be by supposing the planet TO be cooled off
an to have land and water and a rather
tn in atmospheric envelope. The latter is
the usual hypothesis, ana On the whole it
appears to be the more likely.
Likely to Be Further Advanced
The planet is smaller than the earth, and
it is apparently more likely to be further ad-
vanced in the process of cooling off for that
eason. But there is no positive proof that it
IS so, ana we should wait for positive proof,
direct or indirect, before pronouncing. 1t is
perfectly proper to onjecture, and indeed it
is impossible not to do SO, but 1t is the duty
of science to guard itself faithfully against
promulgating conjectures as If they were es-
tablished facts.
We have found great changes in the de-
tails OF the Martial surface, while the main
outlines have remained much the same The
changes have seemed to be SO greas that it is
often difficult to explain them by terrestrial
analogies. If there are indeed Inhabitants
in Mars think they might be surprised at
some of the conjectures which are current
on the earth regarding their surroundings.
If the white cap at the south pole of Mars is
indeed snow and ice, we can say it has been
a hard winter or the Martial EsquimauX.
Ii the red areas are land and the dark ones
water we can describe the great inundations
which have taken place on the banks of the
Lacus Soils and the surprising apparition
OF duplicate lake near the Fons Juventus.
We might incidentally mention the fact
that where there are now two lakes, there
was only one in 1877 and none in 1879, ana we
are speaking, it must be remembered. of
bodies of water some hundred square miles
in area EDWARD S. HOLDEN.