Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1901-04-18

daylight. One three inches in
diameter gives flashes which are con-
spicuous to the naked eve ten miles
away. Indeed, this is the system OF
heliographing messages OF which we
have heard SO much from South
Africa. The writer has no available
data as to the minimum size of mirror
which can be used. 1t is, however,
probably safe to allow an inch OF
diameter of the mirror for each ten
miles of distance il the signals are to
be clearly read by the naked eye, and
we will use this ratio in our work.
In the case OF Mars the signals would
be observed with large telescopes
Transmitting perhaps 10000 times as
much light as enters the naked eye
from the same object. In consequence
the Martians' mirror need have only
4 lilo 900 of the area or l-l0O Of the
diameter that our heliograph rule
would require. We need make no
extra allowance for the fact that the
Martian signals are to be osberved at
night, since they would be seen against
! the bright background of the planet 5
disk, Just as the terrestrial flashes are
seen against sunlit sky or hills.
Our final ratio is then one inch OF
mirror diameter for each thousand
miles OF distance. Now the least
possible distance of Mars is 80, 900, 600
miles. rhe mirror wi b which its m
habitant7 signaled to us would there
fcre have to be at least 25 600 inches
{ 101D -, lipmntpr 10
produce such piece of glass is clearly
far beyond the present resources OF hu-
man engineering. 1t seems possible,
however, that beings vito could CON
struct the Marian canals could also
make such mirror, but once made Its
mounting would present still greater
trouble. 1t would have to be set up SC
that its plane was equally inclined tt
the directions of the earth ana sun,
and moved by some sort OF gigantic
clockwork, to counteract the planet I
rotation just as telescopes have to Dt
moved on earth
To make flashes by covering up the
whole enormous structure, or by UT
ing it, seems hardly possible; but this
end could be attained 70. mirror
composed OF parallel strips, like The
Stats of window blind, which couIt
all be turned out of their plane
once, and later brought back TO place
, by relatively simple mechanism; TIT
/ whole to be mounted in great frame
moved by the clockwork spoken o
! above. No firm on earth would taxi
, the contract for such an apparatus
but it does not seem impossible tina
: the human engineering OF few cen
/ turies hence might be equal to TIT
4 task. So we reach the interesting con
/ clusion that it is not inconceivabl
] that men residing on Mars might b
able to hellograph messages to us; ant
We cannot deny the same ability t
the Martlans, however unlike us the
may be.
How hopeless the task Of signain
to them would be We can now see
What gigantic confagration, what com
t binaton of all the searehllghts OF til
E world, could produce a ray equal i
intensity to a solid beam OF sunligh
thousand yards across? How cou
We point them all correctly? An
how interrupt their Light AT will? Re
: membering that these are the condl
tions for sending a message from Mar
0 and that it is much more difficult
: signal in the reverse direction, "
NAV give up once for all the idea {
!, any regular communication betwee
> the two planets. Henry Norris Rus
e coll in Scianfifir American