Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1907-11-14
NEW PICTURES OF MARS.
First Photographs of Double Can
ais Made by Prof. Todd.
The Amherst Astronomer Back from
South America, Where lie Has
becn Taking Pictures of Our
Ncigbbor Planet.
tFrom the New York SUM


A young man with a straw hat an
ice cream suit of clothes and a pointed
blond beard yesterday afternoon trotted
up and down the long pier at the foot
or West Twcnty-s street-where
tho Colon Of the Panama Railroad
steamship line had locked earlier in the
day after trip up from the canal zone
on the lookout to see that none OF his
telescopes, his Gaertncr celestial cameras
and his 60d0 or 1000 brand new photo
| graphs Of the canals OF Mars were not
manhandled by unscientihc truckmen.
| When you've been up in the air, 1900
| feet mp Mt that, all summer and have got
tho first photographs OF the parallel or
double canals OF Mars for the first time
in history. you don't want them handled
undccldedly
lie was Prof David Todd Of Amherst,
who sailed with his wife Mabel Loomis
Todd. FOR the Andes on May H. at the
I head of the Lowell astronomical OK
petition. He had things to tell about
Mars that no ono has told before, but he
was too busy then saving negatives and
things to 20 into detail.
But II you'll go and see Mrs Todd
she'll tell you about IT," he said. "As
soon we came to earth to-day she
started FOR a dinner party at % Park
avenue. Catch her between courses and
youll get your interview. We're going
right away from here Hero. my man,
handle that thing as II you owned it,"
And so we started south. began Mrs.
[ Todd UP In Park avenue. ION May II to
observe Mars at opposition. This year
Mars was only $500 600 miles from the
earth, whereas the ordinary distance is
about $1,000, ooo miles. When the planet
IS at opposition two years hence it will
be $500 900 miles away from us and then
It will recede and recede after that and
there will be no favorable opposition for
10 years. Also the atmospheric cond-
lions were particularly favorable this
year for observation and altogether We
could not have asked for better luck
throughout the trip.
II suppose tho thing most interesting
abou. the expedition is that for the first
tim" the double or parallel canals have
! come up on a Photographic platoon
every plate made, in fact. The double
canals have been seen BY Prof Lowell
and others before this but did not appear
on Photographic negatives We happen
cd 10 he where the air was steadier and
that IS why our Gaertner camera got both
canals When others declared before this
| that they saw canals running in parallel
lines but failed to secure them on neg
atlvcs after repeated attempts there were
| many doubling Thomases who maintain
ed that observers were seeing double
that the whole thing vas an optical il
fusion. Now the two lines Of canals are
a certainty.
I'VE stopped to look at the canal-the
Panama one-on our way down and saw
the splendid system OF work that Col.
| Goethals OF the army, who Is in charge,
has established there. Then We shipped
our Amherst College telescope, with an
object glass IS inches in diameter. and
other Instruments that included very
fine celestial camera made especially for
the telescope by Gaertner OF chicago.
"olr lrst stop was at GuayaquIl, Ecua-
dor, and then. after week nj Lima, we
all went away up In the rampa Of Ilui-
que in northern Chile and set up our
telescope in part Of the desert Of Tara
paca The Amherst telescope was the
largest ever used in tho southern hem
isphere, by the way Mr.. food had been
invited to occupy as a station one ~ the
great centres OF the nitrate industry and
B
/ Alanza.
I'm photogra phirg that Mr.. Todd made
during the next six weeks there he was
delighted first of all to secure always the
double canals The negative showed. too.
the conspicuous polar caps OF snow on
the planet. white and dazzling, and the
large dark areas and the fine markings
OF tho famous canals.
,laJ H.
81 because Mars was getting further
away by that time nd we went back
to Callao and Lima. From there we
made several trips over tho Oroya rail-
way the highest in the world. We went
up to Cerro de PascO, 1900 to 1900 feet
above the sea, and here ana at even
higher places-one point was 1860 feet
| high-Mr. Todd made tests to learn how
favorable were atmospheric conditions at
so great a height for astronomical cbser-
Walton
He first had large metal tank built
In the railway shops and when It had
been set in place 1t was filled with com
pressed air to bring the air pressure up
to that Of the sea level pressure. Mr.
Todd then continued his observations in
the tank under sea level atmospheric
| results as good az he would out in tho
| open. His purpose in making the test,
OF course. was to find out whether as
| tronomers who are subject to mountain
sickness and the headache and nausea
| that go with It at great attitudes, could
| AVOID the mountain sickness by workin.
| rf the tank. He found his idea worked
| out admirably"
| Mrs. Todd said that the members Of
the expedition also made observations of
the annuar eclipse OF the sun on July 10,
with excellent weather conditions on
| their side. They will proceed to Am
| herst perhaps to-day. whore Prof. Todd
| Immediately begin to elaborate his notes
and print his great wads OF plates for
| the benefit OF his students and astronom-
| ical workers in general