Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-01-03
SIGNALING TO MARS.
.Flammarion Sees a Ray of Hope in
Edison's Big Telephone.
TRIANGLES OF ELECTRIC LIGHT
From the Sister Planet More Easily Seen
by Us Than Vice Versa.
A PRETTY SPECULATIVE PROBLEM
WRITTEN FOR THE DIsPArcH.l

| WRITTEN FOR THE DIsPArcH.l
Toward the end of July lover of astron-
omy wrote me that a very aged lady,
Nine. Guzman, who died on the Both OF
June last in Pau, had been deeply inter
ested, especially during her last years, in
the description of the planet Mars which
have given in my works, and the theoret-
ical possibility set forth therein ofcommuni-
cation between our planet and the neighbor
worlds. Furthermore, expressing in hel
will desire peculiarly astronomical, she
made the following legacy:
A prize of 1OO,oOOf is bequeathed to the
! Institute of France (science section) for the
person, no ma tier of what nationality, who
shall discover within ten years from the
| present time a means of communicating
| with a star (planet or otherwise) and OF
| receiving q reply. The testatrix has espe-
clally in view the planet Mars, upon which
! the attention and investigation of savants
| has been directed already. If the Institute
| of France does not accept the legacy it will
pass to the Institute of Milan, and in case OF
a new refusal to the Institute of New York.
The Academy of Science has accepted the
legacy. Such a discovery, doubtless, does
not lie in the near future, therefore the tes-
tatrix was wise in authorizing the Institute
to apply the income OF the fund to meeting
the expenditures for investigations that
should result in increasing our knowledge
OF the physical construction Of the planets.
confess frankly that am very proud of
having contributed indirectly to this addi-
tion of 100, ,000f. to the capital of the Acad-
emy of Science, designed to encourage as
/ Economical research, and hope that some
| day the legacy will reach its destination.
To Find the Inhabitants First.
But it is far from the cupto the lips, from
the idea to the reality To enter into COM
munication with the inhabitants of Mars it
| would be necessary to photophone them,
"Hello! are you there?" and then it would
be necessary that they should be there. and
that they should understand
The idea in itself is not at all absurd, and
it is perhaps less bold than that of the tele-
phone or the photograph or the photophone
or the cinetograph. 1t was first suggested
with respect to the moon. A triangle traced
in luminous lines on the lunar surface, each
side from II to Is kilometers long, would be
visible from here by tie aid of our tele-
oCOpeS. w OUStIft ueLallS even very muCn
smaller-for instance, the peculiar topo-
graphical formation noted in the lunar
circle of Plato 1t follows then that tri-
angle, square or circle of the dimensions
stated, constructed by US upon a vast plain
by means of luminous points, reflected in
the daytime bv solar light and lighted at
night by electricity, would be visible to the
astronomers of the moon, if such astrono-
mers there are, and if they have optical in
struments as good &c our own.
Proof of a Geometrician.
The logical consequence is most simple.
If we should observe upon the moon a cor
rectly constructed triangle we should be
somewhat puzzled, we should distrust our
eyes, we should ask whether the chances of
lunar formations could have given birth to
regular figure. Without doubt we should
in the end admit this exceptional possibil-
ity, but if all at once we should see the tri-
angle change into square then some
months later be replaced by circle we
should admit logically that an Ineligible
effect proves an intelligent cause, and we
should think with some reason that such fig
ures reveal without question the presence
of geometrician upon the neighbor world.
From this point to seeking the reason for
tracing such figures on the lunar surface,
from this to asking ourselves with what
object our unknown brothers formed these
designs, is but a step very quickly taken.
Would it be with the idea of entering into
relations with US?
The hypothesis is not unreasonable
People set it forth or discuss it or reject it
as arbitrary, or defend it as ingenious. And
why, after all, shouldn't the inhabitants of
the moon be just as curious as we are, more
intelligent perhaps, more elevated in their
aspirations, less hampered than we in the
mfre of material needs Why shouldn't
they suppose that the earth may be
inhabited as we'll as their own world, and
why shouldn't the object of these geomet-
rical appeals be to ask US whether we exist?
Besides, it is not difficult to reply. They
show us a triangle, we produce it here
They trace circle, we initiate it. And 10
heavens and the earth for the first time
since the beginning of the world.
Geometry the Same Everywhere.
Geometry being the same for the inhabit-
ants of all the worlds, two and two make
four in every region of the infinite, and the
sum of all the angles of triangle being
equal to two right angles everywhere, the
signals thus exchange between the earth and
the moon would not have even so much
obscurity as the hieroglyphs deciphered by
Champollion, and the communication once
established would speedily become regular
and fruitful.
Tie cold and deathly aspect of our pale
satellite did not encourage the realization
of the project and the imagination sped
more easily to the planet Mars, which, to be
sure, never approaches nearer to us than
four million leagues, but which is the best 1
known of all the lands in the heavens, and
which offers so many points of resemblance
to our world that We would scarcely feel
like exiles if we were to pack up our house
told goods and transport them thither
The appearance of Mars, in fact, comforts
us q bit for that of the moon.
One would believe, indeed, that
he was in some terrestrial country;
continents, seas, islands, beaches,
peninsulas, capes, CULTS, clouds, rains,
foods, SHOWS, seasons, winter and summer
mornings and evenings; all these are there,
occur there and succeed each other almost
exactly as they do here The years there
are longer, for they last 6S7 days, but the
intensity of the seasons is absolutely the
same as with us, the inclination of the axis
of Mars being the same as earth's. The
days there are also little longer, since the
diurnal rotation of that world is accom-
pished in "a hours 81 minutes % seconds,
and note, that is matter of exact knowl-
edge the diurnal rotation being calculated
nearly to one-tenth of a second.
Reasons for Peopling the Planet.
When OH a beautiful starry night we e1-
anime this world through the telescope,
when we see those polar SHOWS that melt in
the summer, these continents clearly de-
fined, these mediterranean seas with their
preat CULTS. this delightful and varied geo.