Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-01-09
lessor T,ua Explains Pic
tunes 4uken From Plateau
in Andes
SAYS PLANET is INHABITED
Shows System Of Canals to substsn-
tiate Theory - Believes communica-
ton With Neishbors on Mars is
Possible Changes in Seasons Noted
by Decayine Vegetation.

|
other day and related his experiences
during the last summer, which he
spent on the desert of Tarapaca, Chile.
observing the planet Mars and making
photographs Of what his telescope dis
closed.
Mars is 250.O0O,00O miles away from
the EARTH" said Professor Todd the
other day, but in his-I speak OF the
| War Star in the masculine gender -
revolutions around the sun he some
times comes within 3b.000,OOO miles OIL
us Venus is still nearer. The Star OF
Love comes within 26.000,O00 miles or
| the earth occasionally. but that Is or
comparatively little satisfaction be-
cause she Is between US and the sun
| and we cannot see anything of her.
Eros, one OF the asteroids. In Its trav-
els, comes within 100000 miles OF
the earth, but is of no particular In
terest because we cannot raise disc.
| We can see but point-altho Eros
1 Is VI SItul value W dSli Iva s1'
reason that 1t affords us standard
OF measurement of the suns distance.
The moon is our nearest neighbor and
is only about 23S.O00,000 miles away.
1t varies a few thousand miles In It's
distance during the season, but is quite
regular, and we are rather well &C
quainted with the moon. We know how
big she is and that her surface is COW
cred with mountains and craters.
There is practically no water on the
moon and almost no atmosphere--very
| little IL any--and on evidence has ever
| been discovered that the moon Is in
habited. Professor Pickering of Har-
| ward thinks he has found some little
! signs of vegetation. sparse remnants
Of what might have been forests and
other botanical growth, but his obser-
| vations have not been confirmed by
other astronomers, and science re-
quires at least two witnesses to es-
tabllsh theory.
MARS has been under investigation
! since 1866, and is now the most pop
ular object Of interest in the heav-
ems. 1t has excited more scientific
| discussion and more general curiosity
than any other Of the planets, and
| the theories which have been advanced
concerning conditions there by our
progressive astronomers will probably
| occupy attention for generations, as
| they may be gradually developed. Dur
ing the past summer Mars came with
in $4,000 900 miles Of the earth-near-
err by 100000 miles than he has been
for a long time-so that 1t was a very
| favorable opportunity to make OBJ
servations, of which the astronomers
Of the world very generally took adj
! vantage. Percival Lowell Of Flagstaff,
Ariz, the leading authority on Mars.
because Of his exhaustive studies and
successful Investigations, probably
did more to utilize the occasion than
| any other astronomer, and, under his
auspices, l took the new eighteen
inch Clark telescope from the observ-
atory at Amherst, packed it up and
carried it to Chile, where it was set
up in the elevated desert Of Tarapaca,
where our supply of nitrate Of soda
comes from. That situation is espec-
tally favorable for observation because
it is 1000 feet above the sea, and the
atmosphere is remarkably pure. There
is no moisture whatever, 1t has not
rained there for quarter Of a CEN
fury; there is absolute freedom from
clouds, from winds, from atmospheric
waves and other forms of motion.
1--WE set the telescope up in the open
air and camped out around it. Our
party consisted Of Mrs. Todd, A. G..
Use, expert mechanist of Alvan Clark
g. Sons, the telescope-makers: p. G..
Slipher, a photographer who has been
especially trained by Mr.. Lowell for
such work, and Mr.. Eaglesfeld. stu
dent from Amherst We were In the
desert for two months making contin-
uous observations and photographs by
semi automatic cameras which gave US
a record of every phenomenon, or
every phase and every feature and
every change Of the surface OF the
planet as it revolved upon it's axis.
We made more than 10000 photo
graphs, which are now being arranged
/, for more careful and more thorough
study. Similar photographs were TAX
en- in Europe by various astronomers
at the same time but we have not yet
received the results Of their observa-
| tions.
"'The net result Of my observations
was the absolute confirmation of Mr..
Lowelps theories concerning the double
canals which appear upon the sur1ace
of the planet and which have been
subject of discussion for thirty years.
These canals have been observed to
have certain peculiarities. AS the sum-
mer advances in Mars they appear IN
parallels-two canals running side by
side. but several have refused to accept
side. but several astronomers
have refused to accept that
as fact. They have doubted the
accuracy Of the observations until now'
during our recent stay in South Amer
lea, 1T has been absolutely demon
strated. We have photographs which
prove the existence Of the double can
ais beyond a question"
"What are these canals 2" asked.
81 wish 1 could tell you" answered
Professor Todd. II wish 1 knew alb
solutely, but they are still a subject
of controversy. Some astronomers
think that they are volcanic cracks IN
the crust Of the planet Mr.. Lowers
theory, however, which has been
strongly confirmed by our recent OBJ
servations, is that their periodical
change Of appearance. sometimes being
very plain and at other times quite
indistinct, is caused by the develop
ment of egetation-vegetatfon pre-
sumably like ours, trees, shrubs and