Arizona republican., 1911-11-15
PLANET IS A
DEEP PUZZLE
Prof. Lowell's Theory of
Marian Frost is Dis
cussed at Length by Gar
rett Sarviss, a New York
Scientist.

Ii will be recalled that about a
week ago Prof. Lowell. of the Lowell
observatory at Flagstaff, gave out i
statement that through the powerful
telescope in use at the observatory
he had observed the appearance OF
frost within the Antartic Circle of the
planet Mars Commenting on this
statement Garrett L. ScrViss wrote an
article for the New York American
which is of both scientic and popular
interest The Scrviss article is as
follows:
The news. tclcphoncd from the
Flagstaff observatory. that frost has
begun To appear around the Antarctic
Circle Of the planet Mars is bit
of extra terrestrial weather-reportine
which may be as correct as some
that is done at home.
on Mars it is now the latter half
of what we on the earth would call
August the summer is fast breaking
up and autumn is at hand. There is
such a remarkable similarity between
the succession of the seasons on Mars
and on the earth that il seems per
fectly reasonable TO assume. as the
Flagstaff observers do. that the whit
ish deposit which their instruments
revealed during the last few days,
lowering like a morning mist along
the dividing line between day and
right on Mars. is real hOar frost. a
token of the coming chill of winter.
ard an indication of the beginning OF
H.. f..l
few months later. will bury the
whole Antarctic Circle of that planet
Ii this assumption is correct. the
supposed inhabitants of Mars must
now be hurrying To gather their har-
vests in preparation for the long, dry
Writer when nearly al the water OF
the southern hemisphere Of their
planet will be locked up. for more
than one of our years, in the polar
icefields
Ii is the first time that an occur
Cnce of this kind has actually been
Witnessed on Mars. although similar
scenes must have been enacted there
for untold thousands OF generations.
Accords With Theory.
The position of the bright white
i'tlltA7 AlleiA lltiN q bffA illpAitsit llllf-il
is such as TO accord with the prob
able location of the first SHOWS. since
it is within d belt included between
o. and s. degrees of south latitude.
which would embrace the Polar circle |
of tn. planet
Near the center of that circle the
sun still remains pcrpetually above
the horizon. 50 that the deposit of
Snow probably begins in a ring about
the Antarctic region and gradually
advances toward the Pole as the sun
declines
The behavior OF the phenomenon
with regard to sunrise also accords
with the superstition that it is really
light snow or frost which is seen
for as the morning sun gets higher
upon it it gradually disappears. as il
melted away. Thus all the appear
anccs are in favor Of the hypothesis
that has been mentioned
Ard vet there are puzzling diff
culties in the way which makes these
curious observations of fascinating in |
terest. We know that the fore" Of |
;5ravtation in Mars is only about |
two-fifths of that on the cartn. and |
we infer that as a consequence Mar; /.
cannot permanently hold upon its !
surface such gases as those which /
constitute the bulk of the carths |
atmosphere.
The question thus rises: What is |
the nature of this frost. or this white. |
snowflake deposit. on Mars? Docs il |
resemble our snow. or is it something |
of a different composition? 1t has |