Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1921-11-10
o we'll known that Harvard Observs-

tory announced last April that snow
had been observed falling at Isidis in
the district Of Syrtis Major. Mars. /,
was held BY some that the canals had
been developed to signal the earth which
must appear TO the Martians as OF i'm
mense size, being nine times bigger
than Mars.
With the development Of wireless
telegraphy several attempts have been
made to get into communication with
Mars with highpowered apparatus.
Signor Marconi gave encouragement, to
that field Of research recently, when he
announced that in the course Of cx-
perimenting he had picked up a signal
with wave length of 10000 meters,
about six times as long as any COM
mercial apparatus in use today. Mar
conf said the letter V had been repeat
ed several times in international code.
He suggested that possibly the inhab-
itants 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 tuned to catch
such a message as Marconi described
but they heard nothing
Controversy has run high over the
bold proposal Of Messrs. B. McAfee
and Todd. A mine shaft in the Chill
can Andes, which will point directly
at Mars in 1924, will provide the bar
rel OF their telescope, they announced,
and big pan Of mercury revolving at
high speed at the bottom will provide
the mirror. The two Americans cal
culate that the surface of Mars will be
magnified at least 100000 times,
bringing it within a few miles of their
cameras.
The mine shaft will be widened to
so feet in diameter and sheathed.
The pool Of mercury at the bottom will
be revolved at such high speed that
it will assume concave shape and be-
come mirror. The depth Of the for
tunately placed shaft is So great that
there will be sufficient luminosity, the
two scientists said, to enable them to
take snapshots instead of time expos
ures.
The Goddard proposal for aerial in
vestigation also includes use OF cam
eras. To summarize his principle, the
determining factor of the efficiency of
a rocket is the velocity of the injection
of gases due to the explosion Of pro-
pelling material. BY increasing this
velocity, through increasing the pro.
portion of the propelling material to
weight of projectile and through
greatly improved nozzle-shaped pas
sage for the escape of gases, Professor
Goddard claims TO have raised the eff
ficiency of the rocket to nearly 81 per
cent
Many investigators are convinced
that life exists on Mars and expect to
prove it with the novel telescope.
What they will find on their photogra-
phic plates is the object OF specula-
ton by scientific men the world over.
Lowell has said that Mars is level
and uninterestins with no mountains
and only few dried-up beds OF shall
low seas to diversity its topography.
More than one-half Of it is desert land
and the rest is only green when the
canals are bringing water from the po-
lar ice caps. Dust storms which blot
out hundreds Of square miles Of the
planets surface from the view of SCI
entif1c observers sweep over its equa-
torial section.
The physical conditions OF Mars are
entirely different from those we know
on earth. The force Of gravity exert
ed by Mars is only three-eighths that Of
the earth while the atmospheric pres
sure that is about IS pounds to the
square inch at sea level Of our world
is less than four pounds on Mars. The
air is very thin and no known animal
could live on it. These conditions,
however, make it possible for great
weights to be lifted with little effort.
Lowell computed that the Martians
could do seven times more work than
human beings could accomplish, with
the same amount OF effort. A human
observer on Mars, he said, would be
impressed by the slowness and fat
ness Of his surroundings.
An elephant could leap like q ga
zelle in such an atmosphere, he said: