Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1899-06-22
THE PLANET OF ROMANCE.
Moons and Canals of Mars and What
Astronomers Say About Them.

Mars may we'll be termed the planet
OF romance, say Miss Mary Proctor in
St. Nicholas, since more romances
have been told concerning it than
about any other planet in the solar
system. In ancient times it was Sc
lected as the planet of war on account
of it's ruddy light, it's symbol being
| the spear and shield of the old Assyr-
ian warriors. But the evil qualities
attributed to the ruddy hue of Mars
by people believing in planetary infiu-
ences have long ago been consigned to
the realms of romance, and Mars Is no
longer held accountable for the wars
and disasters that take place on planet
Earth.
Seen through a fine telescope, Mars
presents the appearance Of miniature
earth floating overhead, the ruddy
markings indicating land, the greenish
markings outlining seas and water
courses, while white caps adorn the re-
gions corresponding to the polar re-
gions OF our earth. The astronomer,
in the quiet and ease of his observa-
| tory, can make a study of these re-
gions, which may not as yet have ever
been seen by the inhabitants of Mars
| because of the dangers which prevent
access to them. We may well doubt
whether the bravest Marian ever sue
ceeded in reaching either pole of the
planet. Yet our eyes have rested on
| those polar regions, even on the very
| poles themselves. In the same way,
an observer on Mars might direct a
| telescope toward those arctic regions
Of our earth which the most daring CT
our explorers have in vain attempted
to reach.
Mars turns around on it's axis just
as the earth does, except that the day
| lasts longer than the day on earth.
| With the telescope, it is possible to
follow the hourly changes that take
place on Mars, from sunrise to sunset.
| We can see the msts of morning grad
ually clearing away, and the gather
ing of clouds toward evening, probably
to pass from the skies at night, leav-
|
splendor through rarer atmosphere.
Perhaps one or both of the little moons
OF Mars (for it has two, named DEMOS
and Phobos) may be shining in the
sky. DEMOS rises in the east, like
other stars, but the inner moon, Pho
hos, hurries around Mars three times a
day. For this reason, it rises in he
west every night, and sets in the east
after five and a half hours. Neither
of the moons gives much light, since
Phobos supplies only one-siXtieth of
the amount of light given by our moon,
while DEMOS gives only one twelve
hundredth. But the smallness of the
Marian moons must be taken into con-
sideration, since Phobos is only seven
miles in diameter, and DeiDlos five or
six.
Continuing our observation of the
planet Mars during its daytime, we see
In Imagination the white shore-line
along which the murmuring waves
ripple or dash in breakers against
rock or promontory. Clouds form
and rain falls on the surface OF Mars,
though not on such an extensive scale
as here. Nevertheless, during the lat
ter half OF October, 1894, an area much
larger than Europe remained densely
obscured. On another occasion, Sir
Norman Lockyer noticed great mass
OF clouds spreading over a sea many
thousand square miles in extent. AS
the hours passed away, the clouds
slowly dispersed, either melting on ac-
count of the suns heat or dissolving
in rain. When Lockyer ceased OBJ
serving for the evening-at about half
past eleyen-a large portion of the sea
which had been concealed gradually
came into view. On this same night
Mr.. William Rutter Dawes, known as
"the eagle-eyed astronomer" was also
studying the planet of war, keeping It
we'll under observation until the wee
sma hours when he made an excel
lent drawing OF the planet. Compar-
ing this with a drawing made an hour
earlier by Lockyer. 1t was seen that
the clouds which had concealed the
sea during the earlier part Of the even
ing had passed entirely away. Refer