Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-05

Made important Discoveries
Regarding. Comets and
Showers of Falling Stars.

MILAN. July 5.-Prof. Schiaparelii. the
former chief astronomer and director
OF the Milan observatory. who discovered
the canal-like markings on the planet
Mars in 1877. is dead.
Giovanni Virginia Schiaparell leaped
into the notice OF the general public In
1877. when he announced his discovery
OF the sc-called canals OF Mars. venture
in astronomical speculation which has
caused more discussion probably than
any other theory OF the heavens since
ii was finally settled that the earth moves
around the sun and not the sun around
the earth. Among astronomers Schiapa-
relli already had become famous.
He was born I'm 1885. according to one
authority March :. according to another
March IA. Savigliano. a town in Pied
mont. was his birthplace. He was the
son of a teacher. After such schooling
as his native town afforded he went to
the University OF Berlin. where he stud
led under Encke OF cometary fame, and
finally to Pulkowa. where w. Strive
was his teacher In 1859 he returned TO
Italy and was al once appointed an
assistant in the observatory of Brera
at Milan. In 1852 he became the director
of the observatory, and that place he
held until his retirement in 1900.
Establishes Reputation.
II was in 1861 that Schiaparelm perform
ed his first exploit as an explorer OF the
heavens. This was the discovery of the
planetoid Hesperia No. 90. Then he es-
tablished his reputation by pointing out
the coincidence Of the orbits OF certain
comets with the paths OF the shooting
star showers. This discovery was ffrst
communicated in series OF letters TO Fa
ar rrir fod
volume Of the Meteorological Bulletins
Of the Roman College. His observations
were confirmed in a monograph on the
falling stars, printed in Florence in 1867
and in another work Ia 1871. His next
work was a series of observations on the
double stars, involving elaborate calcula
tions as TO their distances apart. This
work was described as being 'of path
| finding importance to astronomical
science"
Then came his observations upon Mar~
involving his theory Of the habitation or
the planet by sentent beings akin TO man
kind. When he published his maps ami
descriptions of the markings he had OBJ
served about half the astronomers I'm the
world came out in fatfooted opposition
Some of them had been looking at Mars
all their lives and had seen no such mark
fngs; others had seen the markings, but
considered them mere geological phe
nomena or due to cloud forms or mere
tricks Of. light-opticaI illusions. Others.
Italians ideas. and down to this day the
conception that Mars is inhabited re-
mains cardinal proposition OF magma
tive astronomy.
Led to Study Of Planet.
At any rate the discussion led to q
worldwide study of the red planet which
assuredly has established the existence
OF the markings as described by Schiapa-
relli. also the presence OF an atmosphere
and OF water upon the planet, with fair
probability Of vegetation. While il cannot
be said that anything conclusive as to
| the presence Of animal life, not to say
human intelligence, has been produced.
on the whole the observations made dur
| ing the recent proximity of Mars to the
earth have tended to enhance Schiapa-
rellis fame.
Schiaparelli also devoted considerable
| attention to the planet Mercury. He an
nounced in 1889 that he had been able to
nix the period OF It's revolution on it's axis
| at efghty-eight days. period exactly cor
responding with its revolution around the
sun, SO that like the moon as regards the
earth the planet always presents the same
portion OF its surface to its primary.
Schiaparelli was the author of q number
! Of important books. Besides the ones On
comets and falling stars he published in
| 1873 1.-The Precursors Of Copernicus in
Antiquity and I'm 1873 and 1886 "Observa-
tons on the Movement Of Rotation and
the Topography Of the Planet Mars"