The Portland daily press., 1892-07-29

- s.,si d. E -
CHART OF MARS ON MERcAToR's PRoJEo-
AAoN' .----------------~------
orbit Is such that the line drawn from
the sun to the planet will sweep over
equal areas in equal times"
From now until gSeptember or Octo-
Der thousands of telescopes will be lev
eled at the rudy planet in the en-
'deavor to pierce the veil of mystery
which hides from us the secrets of plan,
,etary existence. With the distance re-
duced to IS, 600, 600 miles and with the
wonderful Lick telescope and the clear
California atmosphere, some marvellous
DEVELOPMENTS are looked for. Even
now Prof. Holden has begun his series
of Photographic observations, and
these will continue until the planet be-
gins to appreciably increase its distance
from us. At Milan some very impor-
tant observations will be made, and in
Washington also the astronomers OF
the Smithsonian institute promise
interesting developments. At all the
large universities of this country and
England the astronomers will devote
their time to Mars, and most interest
ing developments are looked for from
the Warner and the Washburn observa-
tories at Rochester, N. Y, and Madison,
Wis, respectively. In the past fifteen
years vast improvements have been
.nade in both astronomical instruments
and in the way of Photographic appli-
ances, and these, as exemplified par
ficularly at the Lick observatory, will
bring the planet to within 1850 miles
of the earth, marvellous annihilator of
distance, and will further enable the
astronomers to take the completest
photographs .yet had of Mars. The
principal observations will, of course,
be taken about the pivotal date, August
3, when the planet rises about p M,
and is visible as an evening star. 1t will
be brightest on August 4, when he will
shine refulgent in the southern sky.
Henry NJ. Parkhurst Descsnts on Discov-
cries Past and Yet to Come.
From the last of June until the mid
die of September, and especially in the
beginning of August, the planet Mars
will be in a peculiarly favorable posi-
ton for observation, and probably
every large telescope in the world will
be directed upon it in the hope not only
of learning more about our sister plan
ct, but of obtaining new light upon our
own future history As
There seems to be sufficient evidence
that the giant planets, Jupiter and
Saturn, are yet in a heated condition,
making life there impossible Our moon,
on the contrary, is a dead world; what
ever life that may have in some former
epoch existed upon it having long since
ended. It's seas are dried up, its atmos-
phere absorbed, and all the conditions
of life, animal or vegetable, wanting.
Our earth has passed through stage in
which life was impossible, and may be
approaching stage in which 1t will
again be impossible. The planet Mars
appears to be in such condition as the
earth may possess millions of years
hence. It has reached that condition
before us from it's smaller size, becom-
ing more rapidly cooled off. The earth
was probably once covered with water.
At present two-thirds of its surface is
covered by it's oceans. But in the
planet Mars the drying-up process has
proceeded so far that oceans have
dwindled to seas, and the land has be-
come continuous. Our continents are
islands; and we cannot visit our neigh
bors without crossing the sea.
In Mars, while there may be islands,
there is but one continent, for nearly
all the land upon the surface of the
planet is SO connected that notwltla-
standing the existence of extensive seas,
connecting with one another over
large portion of the planet, nevertheless
the lands also are SO connected that the
principal part of the planet could be
visited without crossing the water. In
Mars there is an atmosphere, shown
Iby the spectroscope to resemble our
own; there is water; there is land, visi-
lble even in very small telescopes; there
are icecaps at the poles varying in size
with the season of their year, showing
conditions very similar to our own.
Clouds have been seen covering certain
continents and afterward disappearing.
All the indications point not only TIC
the possibility but to the probability OF
the existence Of life there. There may
be not only vegetable life but animal
life
Is it possible to communicate with
such beings? The only means of COM
nrunication yet known to science are
through the sense of sight. If there
are astronomers in Mars who have fore
seen our close proximity during this
year, they may have made preparations
for it. They might erect ia some con-
spicuous place an eauilaterai triangle,