The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1921-12-01
Star Sleuths Prepare to Solve
Mystery When Planet Is
Nearest In 1924.
MANY THEORIES ADVANCED
Scientific Eyes to Strain at Telescopes
and Wireless to Be Tried to Read
Sky sseret-chilsan
Venture Derided.

makes its closest approach to earth.
although astronomers are skeptical of
the theory Of Marconi that the Mar
tlans are signaling us by wireless,
and take no stock in the 6O-foot whirl-
Ing dish OF quicksilver which 1t is
promised will magnify the power of
vision to 25,OOO,OO0 times its normal
strength.
In 1924 Mars will come within about
S5.OOO,OOO 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 Mars will be the
cynosure Of telescopes all over the
earth. The 1OO-inch Hooker telescope
at 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,OOO,OOO to 2S4,-
100000 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
35,OOO,OOO miles.
Those "SignaIs" From Mars.
For the last 20 years Mars has
been reported frequently to he at
tempting to signal to us by wireless
rays, ny flashes Of light, and even, ac-
c0rding to some imaginative specu-
latists. by writing sign messages of
planet-wide size over the latitudes by
means Of the Mars canal system. 1t
has even been suggested that we ac-
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
up 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
1t was reported that, signaling from
Mars had been detected at the Lowell
observatory at Flagstaff, Ariz. This
was based on q misunderstanding of
a telegraph message concerning some
projected lights over the rim Of Mars.
Instead Of presenting a perfect out
line, Mars showed slight excrescences
Of light. These We're calculated to
be from IT 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
stu in darkness.
But Mars has no mountains, ac-
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 a mysterious
kissing and cracking in wireless ap-
paratus and sometimes upsetting hu-
man electrical contrivances, az the
great magnetic storm. of last May did
on an unprecedented scale. Such cur
rents, called "strays" or "atmosphe-
rics." have been occasionally inter-
preted as signals from Mars, when
they came with regularity that
seemed to be directed by human
intelligence. But they have been
shown most Enthusiastically to be con-
nected with sun spots.
The scheme, attributed to ID. David
Todd Of Amherst, q well-known as
trOnomer, Of using great abandoned
mine shaft In Chile for the making Of
q colossal telescope, has been the sub
ject Of no little scientific discussion.
This shaft. which Is said to have u
60-foOt diameter, Is located near the
equator. 1t Is, therefore, In the plane
OH which the earth and all the other
planets whirl round the sun. The
shaft telescope has the disadvantage
that 1t could never be shifted, and
could only be used for that part of
the heavens which passes over 1t. But
II Is calculated that Mars will pass
directly over 1t when 1t becomes a big,
red disk In 1924.
Many Astronomers .Scoff.
Many astronomers have scOffed at
the theory Of such a colossal tel
escope. alleging that II the mechani-
cal difficulties could be overcome the
enormocs magniflcation sought would
be useless. because the observer would
zee nothing b,lt blur. On a small
scale, I'r. Rooeu Williams Wood If
Johns Hopkins had built q practical
concave.mirror telescope on Long
Island by rotating basin Of mercury
until the liquid metal shaped itself into