Graham guardian., 1921-11-04
SNOW FALLING AT ISIDlS, %
a.F .ss.,-s.s -.
.. MARS, SAY ASTRONOMERS

telegraphy several attempts have
been made to get into communication
with Mars with high,powered appa-
ratus. Signor Msrconi gave encour.
ayement to that field OF research re-
Gently, when he announced that In the
course of experimenting he had picked
up a signal with a wave length of
100000 meters, about six times as
long as any commercial apparatus In
use today. Marconi said the letter V
had been repeated several times in
international code, He suggested that
possibly the inhabitants OF Mars were
trying to get into communication
With the earth.
Two engineers of. Omaha devoted
two weeks of their time recently to
listening for signals from Mars. They
kept their apparatus turned to catch
such message as Mariconi described
hut heard nothing,
Controversy has run high over the
bold proposal Of Messrs. b. McAfee
and Todd. A mine shaft in the
Chilean Andes, which will point direct
ly at Mars in 1894. will provide the
barrel of their telescope. then an
nounced, and a big pan OF mercury
revolving at high speed in the bottom
will provide the mirror. The two Am
ericans calculat that the surface of
Mars will be magniiled at least 25,.
0e0, 900 times, bringing 1t within few
miles of their cameras.
The mine shaft will be widened to
so feet in diameter and sheated. The
pool of mercury at the bottom will be
reyolyed at such high speed that 1t
will assume q concaye shape and be.
come mirror. The depth OF the
fortunately placed shaft is SO great
that there will be sufficient luminosity
the two scientists said, to enable them
to take snapshots instead of time ex.
pDsures.
Fhe Goddard proposals. for aerial
investigation also includes use of
cameras, 70 summarize his principle,
the determining factor Of the efficien-
cyof q secret IL tho velocity Of the
election of gases due to the explosion
of propelling material. BY increasing
OF the propelling material
to weight Of projectile and through a
greatly improved nozsle shaped pass.
age for the claims to have raised the
efficiency OF the rocket to nearly 64
per cent:
Many inEestigatoFs are convinced
that life exists on Mars and expect to
prove it with the novel telescope.
What they will find on their photo
graphic plates Is the object Of specu
latieh BY scientific men the world
over
Lowell has said that Mars is level
and uninterestias with no mountains
and only few dried,up beds Of shall
low seas to Diversity It's topography.
More than one-half OF 1t is desert land
and the rest is only green when the
Oa4als are. bringing water from the
polar ice caps. Dust storms which blot
Dut hundreds Of square rn.lsa OF the
planets surface from the view of |!
'eieHtific 9bserysrs sweep over its
squatoriai ssctioR.
The physical conditions OF Mars are
entirely different from those we know
IN earth. The force Of gravity exerted
~ Mars is only three.eights that OF l
he earth wRila the atmosphereic pres.
,ure that is about Is ppuAds to the
Iguare iach at sea level on our world |
8 less thaa f9qF pounds on Mars. The
'ir is very thin aad no kaown animal
'ould live on Ii, These conditions,
however, make II possible for great
Weights to be lifted with little effort.
Lowell computed that the Mar.
ians could do seven times more work
nan human beings could accomplish,
With the same amount OF effort. A
Iuman observer on Mars, he said,
would be impressed by the slowness
nd fiatness OF his surroundings.
An elephant could leap like q ga.
ellie in such an atmosphere, he said.
Tater would flow with resistant lazy
urept and stone thrown into the
ir @QulSaI IsiAk with graceful modera.
ion to the sfoSRRS:' Ih.ss 10 at.
empt to describe how the Martians
pight appear to woridings but he
aid they wspId not resemble human
eings.
The MartiaH day 10 20 minutes long.
7 than quFs but seasons are twice
5 ieas. LsTeli asserted that Mars
'as slowly dying for want Of water
nd the canals had been built In an
pic struggle of the Martians to main.
ain life. He suggested that the spots
5served at the intersections OF some
I the canals might be cities built up
round poiats where the greatest
mount Of water could bs seacentrated
y the canals,