The dispatch-news. [volume] (Lexington, S.C.) 1919-2001, 1921-10-26
SCIENCE SEEKS
SECRET OF MARS
Star SIeuths Prepare to Solve
Mystery When Planet Is
!. Nearest in 1924.
MANY THEORIES ADVANCED

New York.-The secret Of Mars may
be read in 1924 when the red planet
makes it's closest approach to earth,
although astronomers are skeptical Of
the theory of Marconi that the Mar
tians are signaling us by wireless,
and take no stock in the 6O-foot whirl-
ing dish of quicksilver which it is
promised will magnify the power Of
vision to 25,OOO,OOO times its normal
strength.
In 1924 Mars will come within about
35,000000 miles of the earth. Be-
cause Of it's eccentric orbit, compared
to the more nearly circular one of the
earth, Mars approaches that close only
once in fifteen years.
In. 1924 observatories. will be much
better equipped to, study Mars than
they were in 1909, when the planet last
appeared at its biggest and reddest in
! our: sky. In 1924 Mas will be the
eyposure of telescopes all over the
earth. The 100-inch Hooker telescope
lat Mt. Wilson, and the marvellous
Instruments and methods for analyz-
ing light which are in use there, may
definitely solve the question whether
Mars is inhabited. -..... .....'.-*
As the distance: of Mars from the
earth varies from 35.0O0,0O0 to 2S4,-
O00, 600 miles, the wireless signals from
that planet, if there are any, will have
better chance to- register in 1924
over the comparatively brief span Of
100000 miles.
s.,:. Those "SiqnaIs" From Mars.
For the last 20 years Mars has
been reported frequently to be at
tempting to signal to US by wireless
rays, by flashes of light, and even, ac-
kcording to some imaginative specu-
iatists, by writing sign messages Of
paanet-wide size over the latitudes by
means of the Mars canal system. It
has even been suggested that we &C
knowledge receipt by forming words
In vegetation over the blank Of the
Sahara desert.
The Marconi wireless communica-
tion theory is more plausible than
any Of the others, because that great
inventor reports that he has picked
ND wireless waves 100 miles long,
while the greatest produced on earth
by artificial means are about ten
miles long. Many ways Of explain
ing this have occurred to skeptics, but
the Marconi signals have more in
them to interest conservative scien-
lists than any Of the previous types.
There was sensation in. 1900 when
it was reported that signaling from
Mars had been detected at the Lowell
observatory at Flagstaff, Ariz.: This
was based on a misunderstanding OF
! telegraph message concerning some
projected lights over the rim Of Mars.
Instead of presenting perfect out
line, Mars showed slight excrescences
Of light. These were calculated to
be from II to 80 miles above the sur
face Of the planet.
Similar Projections From Moon.
Similar isolated projections Of light
had been seen on the moon, but this
was easily discovered to be the sun
light tipping the mountain tops, an
effect visible on earth In mountain
GUS country when the rising sun gilds
the SUBMITS when the lower parts
OF the mountains and the valleys are
still in darkness.
But Mars has no mountains, &C
cording to general agreement among
observers. 1t was believed also to be
almost cloudless. The occasional
high lights, however, are now agreed
to have been clouds which are thought
to occur, though somewhat rarely.
Electric currents which apparently
wander through eternity hit the earth
here and there, causing mysterious
kissing and cracking in wireless ap-
paratus and sometimes upsetttng hui
man electrical contrivances. as the
great magnetic storm of last May did
on an unprecedented scale. Such cur
rents, called "strays" or "ataaosphe-
rics,'' have been occasionally Inter
preted as signals from Mars, when
they came with q regularity that
seemed to be directed by q. human
intelligence But they have been
shown most Enthusiastically to. be con-
nected with sun spots.
The scheme. attributed to D. David
Todd of Amherst, well-known as
tronomer, Of using great abandoned
mine shaft in Chile for the making Of
q colosss, telescope, has been the sub
iect Of no little scientific discussion.
This shaft, which is said to have u
GO-foot diameter, is located near the
equator. 1t is, therefore, in the plane
on which the earth and all the other
planets whirl round the sun. The
shaft telescope has the disadvantage
that it could never be shifted, and
could only be used for that part OF
the heavens which passes over 1t. But
it is calculated that Mars will pass
directly over it when it becomes big,