Pueblo chieftain., 1922-01-07
LATEST NEWS FROM MARS
BY Frederic j. Ha skin

BY Frederic J. Haskin
Washington, d. c., Jan. 7.-All of the
latest scientific dope on that most in
teresting of all planets, Mars, is con-
veniently gathered together in a recent
publication on the subject by Professor
William Fl. Pickering, who has charge
of the Harvard Astronomical Station
in Jamaica, and who has devoted much
of his time to looking at Mars thru a
telescope and speculatinS about condi-
tions on the sister planet.
Like most strictly scientific revela-
tions. what Professor Pickering has to
say is somewhat disillusioniug to the
layman. Mars shas held high place in
the popular imagination for long
time. 1t has been generally assumed
that Mars Is inhabited by intelligent
beings, something like men. How these
beings differ from us and hoy they re-
semble us, whether we can hope ever
to communicate with them-these ques-
tions fire even the dullest imagination
All sorts of fantasies have been based
on imagined visits of Martians to the
world or of inhabitants of the world
to Mrs.
Whether Mars is inhabited by intelli-
gent beings is highly debatable ques-
tion, as Professor Pickering shows but
it is extremely probably that life in
some form exists on Mars. That alone
lis enough to keep human curiosity
about it at the highest pitch Men have
been squintin6 at Mars Tor centuries,
finding out more and more about it as
/, their instruments improved There is
now an association Of Martian OBJ
servers who look at the planet from all
different parts of the earth and en-
change observations and opinions. Pro-
fessor Pickering himself has worked
out in theory a giant heliograph by
means of which it would be possible to
signal the inhabitants of Mars. pro-
vided they are intelligent beings with
as much power of sight as we have.
A TRIP TO MARS.
The time may yet come when we will
~nt daily communication from Mars.
After all, at times it is only S5,O00-
900 miles away. Should a means of
travelling thru interstellar space with
a supply of canned oxygen ever be per-
fected. as it well might, an expedition
to Mars would doubtless be launched.
An aeroplane travelling at the rate OF
one hundred miles an hour might reach
Mars in about forty years. provided it
set out at the right time. The chief of
the expedition. a youth of twenty,
would carry with him n few promising
infants of both sexes. aged about one
year. These would be men and women
at the height Of their maturity when
Mars was reached. They would do the
observing. and their progeny would
carry the dope back to earth. along
with a delegation of Martians. The en-
tire operation need not consume more
than three generations.
1t is only fair to add that Professor
Pickering Is not responsible for any OF
the above speculations. He did invent
the signaling system. ii Is true. but nc
does not seem to be at all sure that
there Is anyone on Mars worth CORE
spending with. .f..r
Altho the scientists have the greatest
q. 4. t,,f ,,sl,a Ut, IL.
of life there is on Mars, they arc able.
to supply a surprising amount OF in->
formation as to living conditions there.
When the Marian expedition sets sail.
science will probably not be able to tell
the members what sort of creatures
able to tcll-thsm all about the climate
In Mars. what kind OF underwear they
will need how many blankets at night
and all that sort OF thing.
In the first place. they are able 10
compute the size of Mars with great
accuracy. II Is 1900 miles In diameter
which means that 1t Is only about L.
per cent as great as the earth in bulk
quite small place as stars go, n sort
of Gopher Prairie among the habi-
table planets.
As a result OF being such a light
weight world, Mars enjoys an extreme
ly low force of gravity. AT tho surface
of Mars the force of gravity is only
about two-fifths of that at the surface
of tho earth. This means that IL you
weight $50 pounds here on earth. and
You went to Mars. you would w-irh
but sixty pounds. tho you would sull
have the same strength. You could
jump more than twice as high. and In
general YOU would have most un-
usual lightness and buoyancy. Dancing
would be vastly more of pleasure and
not nearly so hard Oh the girls toes,
but on the other hand a flivver striking
n bump In the road would bounce about
two and one-half times as high. But
then. distances In Mars arc so short
that one would scarcelv need "A car,
Is MARS GOING DRY?
As a result of this condition. Mars
has an atmosphere of very slight dem