The Portland daily press., 1901-02-20
REAL NEWS FROM MARS.
Clouds That Tell which Way the Wind
Is blowing on That Planet.
(Boston Evening Transcript. }


Lowell Observatory. Flagstaff, Ariz
Jan. 20. The phenomenon on Mara which
has given rise to the report of MESSAGE
from that planet ON Dec. OF last year
was realty only cloud on that planet
lighted up by the setting sun. 1t was
a true message, giving us knowledge OF
Martian climate, but not message from
any Intelligent Inhabitants. A great
number OF clouds of this kind have been
seen In previous years, but none, believe
for the last four, and therefore, this one,
coming as it did in one particular part OF
the planet, was matter OF great inter-
est, and telegraphed information about
it to the East, where 1t was distributed
to all astronomers and to many others
interested.
Astronomers almost never see clouds on
the sunlit portions of the planet. II they
exist as thin cirrhus clouds we should
perhaps be unable to see them. Heavy
clouds, II they covered large enough
area OF the planet would be visible.
They would have to cover perhaps mil
lion square miles before they could be
! recognized with certainty. But on this
earth they cover far more area than that,
and therefore, as we DO not see them on
Mars at all, we conclude that the planet
is extremely dry. AS a mattsr Of fact, 1t
has no oceans and no surfaces that are
| positively identified as permanent water
surfaces. Some observers even doubt
that the planet Is warm enough to per-
NIT the existencs OF water. The only
| Of hf,Nu -
tine polar caps OF snow and the clouds,
eucfl as this one, which become visible
| Co MS as the sun sets on the region RboTe
which they doat. Tnese clouds stand
above such regions Ike the peaks OF high
mountains. and receive the last rays OF
| the setting sun. when all beneath is dark.
They therefore appear to us as bright
points extending from this suDlit portion
| OF the planet out into the region OF nlghb.
The first observation or phen omenon
OF this kind was made at the Liok Obser-
yatory in 1890. A few were seen In 1872
| at a number OF observRtories. Over three
hundred and fifty were observed and
sbudied at this observatory IN 1894, and
many were seen In 1895. 1he result OF
| the study OF several hundred OF them Is
given in Volume |. OF the Annals OF
| the Lowell D observatory" By that re-
search it became evident that many or
them formed at SUNSET. In character they
were d roba bly, like our dense cumulous
clouds Their average elevation was
much greater than our cumulous clouds,
being several miles on an average, and
| one was seen at least as high as fifteen
miles above the surface. that OF Nov. 20,
| 1874. In that case the cloud was seen
near the sunrise termtnator, as it is called
| that Is, the mort and south line on the
planet at which the sun was rising. Ii
we were searching for signals, the cloud
of Nov 70, 1894, would be very much
vii I'M ANYTHING
| before or since. On the night of Nov 20,
| thia cloud was seen as a white spot
against the dark background OF the unil-
| Iumined surface beneath. 1t was nun
| dred miles across and at least nfteen miles
above the surface. 1t remained IN that
noInt over half an hour then suddenly
disappeared. On the following night IL
was only eight miles high. instead OF
remaining constantly as bright spot II
appeared and disappeared Ihe nrst ap'
paaranoe lasted sixteen minubesi then IL
| disappeared; 1t came again for only a
/ moment, and after six minutes more IT
| again Appe Ared for two and one-hat min
| utes, Then followed an absence or three
minutes, presence for two minutes, ap-
| sanoe for three minutes presence Ton one
minute, absence eight minutes ana an
appearance forty-six minutes aIter bne
first sight OF it.
| II some genius can prove that these
were a eerfes of signals from Mars 1t
would be a matter of the greatest import
ancs. My own belief is that 1t was q
message from Mars, not from iphabitants
of the surface, but from the clouds which
inhablb its atmosphere. They were CIV
ing us an illustration OF the effect on
them OF sunlight, and showing us how
they form ana dis appear with its ab-
sence and presence.
The cloud which was observed on Dec.
| and gave US also scientific message
| of great Importance, 1t was seen on
those two successive mornings and lasted
| for an hour each time. IL was less on
the second morning, as II the moisture
had been dissipated, or had been used In
some way SO that it could not oondenss
into visible clouds. Ii formed aDoVe the
deserts on the north side OF a large. dark
which is supposed to be vegetation.
This lie significant in two ways. First,
it corroborates our idea that the dark
markings are vegetation by showing, as
we should expect, that the regions Of
vegetation have more moisture In them
than the surrounding regions, which are
desert. Second, IL appeared ON the north
side OF the dark marking, showing that
there must have been motion OF the air
Trom the. south. At that time the sun
was about l3 degrees north OF the equator,
and the point beneath most heated by the
sun was therefore north also, and the
wind was blowing toward that point
This Is exactly what we hnd on the earth
in the case OF Ithe trade winds, which
hIoyy toward the heat equator. ANA 90
| Wa have received the most interesting In
formation that In there zones at least the
wind on Mars ana on the earth blow In
the same direction.
knowing. then, that suoh similarity