Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1922-06-07
ASTROlJOM ICAI1
OBSERV ATIONS
BY Levi G. johnson

i OD0Il1GV 11llN/AN0 I'll
By Levi G. Johnson
Astronomers as well as other en-
thusiasts have been eagerly looking
forward to the coming Of the wonder
full planet Mars, with it's strange red
splendor, into the midnight sky of
June, 1922. More public interest has
in recent years been concentrated on
the planet Mars than on any other
Its resemblance to our Earth in dis
lance from Sun, seasons and climate,
length Of night and day, atmosphere,
its supposed oceans and canals, white
capped (snow covered) poles, etc.,
have all tended to interest us in it's
possible inhabitants, any certain
proofs of which has not, and very
likely will never be seen. / WILL how
ever, leave the subject of habitation
with a passing remark that life in its
varying forms resembling that Oh our
world may exist on Mars, and will not
even dispute the view of Mr.. Marconi
that the wireless signals" which dur
ing the summer of 1921, he has noted
coming in with enormously long cleo
trio waves, have their origin far out
side the Earth and may be inspired
by personages on the planet Mars, who
are testing this planet of ours to see
whether it is inhabited by beings in
telligent enough to respond to call
from space. While Mr. Marconi hold
ing to Mars as the most probable
source of the signals, admitted that
they might possibly come from Venus,
while Garrett P. Serviss, a conserva-
tive astronomer, commenting on the
subject, reversed this view saying that
they (the signals) might probably
come from Venus. though they might
possibly come from Mars, :basing his
theory on calculations of the positions
and varying distances between Mars,
Venus and the Earth, and their sit
uatiOn with regard to the Sun.
Mars is globe of 4,215A miles i'll
diameter, rotates on it's axis in "a
- hours 81 minutes. Makes it's revOlu-
ton around the Sun in 6S7 days. It's
appositiOns occur at intervals of two
years and one or two months. Its
mean distance from the Sun is 141,-
546,67S miles and its orbital speed is
nearly Is miles per second. The &C.
centricity of it's orbit is .O933332, or
about 51% times that of the Earths.
being the nearest planet outside the
Earth: it's distance from the Earth
varies more than any other planet,
being an average of 234 million miles
when on the other side of the Sun,
and As million when in opposition,
but on account of it's eccentric orbit
may be as far away as 267 million
and as near as 351@ million miles. It's
effect upon the apparent brightness is
of course very great.
Mars will be in opposition to the
Sun on June 10. A. NJ. and will
consequently cross the meridian at
midnight. Rising in the southeast at
S 30 beaming like red signal lantern,
several times brighter than a first
magnitude STAR it's position in the
zodiac being such that it's altitude at
meridian transit is less than 16 de-
grees above our horizon, which is 21M
degrees lower than the Sun at Christ
mas. It's position in the sky is be-
tween the consultations Scorpio and
Sagittarius in the region Of the Milky
Way. Mars has for some time been
the nearest of all the planets. It's
position in it's orbit at present is such
that it is approaching the Sun while
the Earth is receding from it; the
combined effect is such that Mars will
be approaching us for some time after
its opposition point. The time Of near
est approach being June Is, 5 P. NJ;
it will then be 42,364, 900 miles, while
Venus the next nearest will be at
this time 1928 million miles. The next
opposition, in August, 1924, will be a
much closer opposition, Mars being
near perihelion and at higher altl-
tude, affording an advantage for OBJ
servations. Mars possesses two min
iature moons revolving with great ra-
pidity and at close range, they being
called DEMOS and Phobos; their dis
tances are $4,000 and 5000 miles and
time Of revolution 80 hours 10 minutes
and Z hours and 80 minutes respec-
lively. The surface gravity Of Mars
is 0.36 Of the Earth's, an ordinary
man would their weigh about 60 lbs
Table for Week June 11-17
(Standard time)