The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-11-04
emily retain an atmosphere like our


and clear. There is probably never a
time when a distant observer would be
able to see half the seas and continents
of the earth unclouded and exposed to
view.
Whether the Marian atmosphere
contains any sensible quantity of water
vapor is still a debated point Some of
the earlier observers reported that they
could distinctly make. out the char
acteristic lines of this substances in the
planets spectrum, but some of the best
recent observers, notably Prof Camp
bell, of the Lick observatory. have
reached an opposite conclusion.
VERY LOW TEMPERATURE.
And now we come to question of
great difficulty-that of the planets
temperature.
Since the planets atmosphere is GER
tainly not dense. it is natural tn CON
clude that the temperature at it's sur-
face, even If the suns heat there were
as intense as here. must be practically
the same as that of places on earth
Where the density of the air is cor
respondingly low, namely. at the- t;ons
of the Hottest mountains, in the regions
of perpetual snow.
AND. recalling that on Mars the solar
radiation is less than half as intense
as here, the inference is almost IRE
slstlble that the temperature must he
appallingly low, so low that. as on the
iiloon'. wafer IL IL exists at all, can only
exist as ice..
And yet, while many astronomers
myself, for one-are disposed to think
THIS problem true. it is only an infer
ehce, ana not certain one MIR can
IL De denied, as we shall see, that phe-
ncmena observed upon the planet loal,
very much like the deposit and melt
IN Of rNfN1r,
ing OF poiar SHOWS. the flow of water
and growth of vegetation.
1t may be, perhaps. as Fla p,nar,o,
has suggested, that the planets atnnos-
phefe, though rare, has some mcmillan
constitution that makes it more effect
I've as blanket than orr own in SC
power TO retain the solar heat. or
again, II may be that Fay,s modifica.
Ion oI the nebular hypothesis is cor
80, aIiG thal Mars, instead Of being an
Older planet than the earth os &C. o.
monty supposed. may be vounenr
one sui retaining considerab HE Of lie
original heat of condensation and NOT
yet cooled down to q permanent tom
pefature corresponding to its distance
from the sun
but unless some cause operates 70
SSi ive 1t an abnormal temperature. the
discussion need go no fnrther az
IeseInolhg that upon the earth could
not exist there III ooulu
Inc time may come, perhans before
Vely lohg' When We may have heat
measuring instruments Of Suf4ic;ont
uSIcacy 10 give us contain information
NwHether the planets Temperature is
TeIoW zero, or is similar to that of orr
hangs suspended ei''
AS a telescope object, Mars is fine
LIS rudy disk is diversified with
patches or greenish hue. which in
otlaH telescope, seem to form q Sor+
OF irregular ball around its eonator
win Win several projecting angles which
TRUST ,.lr themselves down into the north
tb ~ n,ennlspnefe; The telescope -inverts
IiIe planet much as South America and
AFRICA and India reach toward +ha
ooU 11- upon terrestrial globe
Hese dark regions cover about
L tninu VI the pail, and until recently
nave generally been Interpreted as GO >
aLu oceans. and are named ACCORDING DIV
Sut Idter observations make this very
t1.: o'Lul, oy showing: such changes in
Their form and appearance and such
markings upon them as TO Suoo-o.,+
rather that they are areas covered 1 9tI !.
vegetation: 'eree with
iHeh' near one or the other of III a
koies, Lnere Is usually a.''polar cam of
Nazzllhg Whlteness,e and these cans
saow ana Wane with the planets sea-
sonio Nds the elder Herschel discovered
more lnan century ago. lust as tbe1
would do if they were comnocad oe ~
e"Ed Snow Sometimes. aIso tboueb
haIeiy, as mas been already said +bera
ere Wn1tlsh wells of cloud that rohso,,ro
loI time the well known features
@ Gu a'ortiy vanish. All the time the
Plahet tWh1rlS, and as the night woo ~,
on continents and seas na-ss s To1i
III review, coming up; from the eactarn
eoge OF the disk and DESCENDING
the western. upon
-, the telescope is powerful eno,,et
9aH TWO little moons will be- seen
a+ thtoDoe, nurrylng from one side to the
osiel' cioSe TO the planet, and so ron
IDLY that it takes him only three bo. ~
and .lhree-quarters to make the swbole
eAcurSlon. While the smaller. and s,,,oro
INSTANT Demos is more than fol1r +i,,oa =
as deliberate in it,, motion.
ARE THESE WATER COuRsESo
but-the most Interesting objects r.
enc can see them, for they zreouire =
neen eye, nrSt rate Instrument and
az n,1oS a.lnospner1c conditions, are the
lile, Ozark, thread-like lines whicn
cross the ruddy= portions Of tho disil
IN various directions, in a most c1rio1s
anu suggestive manner A few of 4hoy,o
WE noted las rather ilI-defined shad-
lngs) long ago, but it was Scbiar no
rem, the Mflanese astronomer. who
~ I9H, Hrst discovered them in anv
NUMBER, and named them the canals :,
as resembling water c01rsas IF 49,
Soil' running from sea to sea
as 70 their real nature, there. is still
Ilioch' oouot. Those who ignore the
temperature difficulty, and believe that
ene poldr caps are really sheets Of
~ wnlcn melt in the summer, for
lne illosC part accept the SUGGESTION
winch the. name implies ana Taora ~
lEem as marking the track of channe1s
dCufal and artificial, througb Whit
the water that results from tba ronIt
ing oI the Ice caps is distributed ovnr
the ara plains near the planets eo,1a-
loI. Iney suppose, at least this is tha
view OF tIammarion and Tounu A.
what we see is not the watar co',r &c
user, but the fringe of varata tio,,
MhIch springs up along its banks When
Inc water comes, like the harvests of
the valley of the Nile.
ana this certainly accordS worry uo11
win the fact that these canals are not
equally visible at all times but orc
sometimes fairly conspicuous Win
they vanish at others.
Possibly. too, one might raduoo f.o,,.
this theory a satisfactory exnIana tinn
OF very strange phenomenon exhihit-
Gu Dy many OF them their "geminatio,, ),
as 1t is called. They double themselves
at times. A canal which had heen .
Single thin, dark line is replaced in a
day or two by two that are exactly
parallel and separated by a distance
CT from hundred to two hundred and
flfty miles. Some Of these canals ara
over two thousand miles in length. and
appear to be as accurately Straight as
lies can De upon sphere Thew seem
10 follow true great circle course
AT their points Of intersection-ond
IN several instances as many as half .
uozen seem to converge as accurately to
a single mint q roll ~