The Coconino sun., 1909-10-01
ASTRONOMERS DISAGREE
Dr. Percival Lowell Contends That Markings on Mars Are the Work of Human Design and Not Possibly of Natural Forces.
Philadelphia Inquirer;


 of distinguished astronomers, in. cluding representatives from the Lick Observatory and from the Smithsonian Institution, returned from observations of Mars made from the advantage point of Mount Whitney. it was reported that moisture had been discovered on the planet. It now appears that this was mistake: on the contrary no trace of moisture was discovered and the astronomers insist that Per cival Lowell was mistaken in his observations in Arizona; that what he discovered was not moisture on Mars but moisture in our own at mosphere just beyond his own tele- scope. While this may not be final it is blow to those who hold to the habitability of Mars.
 The observations just made were under the most favorable circum- stances, such as have never before been present on such occasions. The photographs and spectrocope tests were made on top of a high mountain where three was no mois- ture in the terrestrial atmosphere or. at least, so little as not to in- terfere with the tests. Mars is now only about 36.000. 900 miles away and will no be in such a fav- orable position for some fifteen years. This can be understood when it is known that it takes Mars almost two years to go around the sun. 1t is only once in fifteen years that the earth and Mars are in conjunction. that is to say on the same side of the sun and in practi- cally direct line with it.
 Professor Lowell is not likely to accept this testimony for he thinks his own conditions for observation are unexcelled. At least it can be said that he now has one more op- portunity to clash with his contem- poraries. Astronomers are divided into three classes on this subject: those who think the existence of life is proved, those who either ut terly deny it or say that they know nothing abuot it and do not believe gny knowledge is possible on the subject. and a third class which has an open mind
 The contention of Lowell is large ly based on one single fact-that the SO called canals are work of hu- man design and not possibly of natural forces. It is not claimed that the markings of Mars show the water courses themselves, for the narr0west of them must be at least twenty miles across, but that they show vegetation which grows along the artificial waterways constructed by Martians to carry the melting ice from the Poles. That there are white caps on Mars is evident to anyone who looks through a tele- scope of moderate power. It has been denied that they are ice and it has been suggested that they are crystals of carbonic acid gas. This contention is pretty well discredit- ed by Lowell and others, as 1t does not account for the fact that the canals widen as the ice caps de- crease and that there is said to be visual veidence that they are water.
 The canals are all along ares of great circles, follow not the lines of least resistance but of greatest economy They are such as would
 
 be built for irrigation. Nature offers nothing so geometrically per feet anywhere else in the universe. Hence human beings have done the work