Evening star., 1938-07-05
OF STARS
MEN AND ATOMS
Notebook of Science Prosres.
in Field, Laboratory
and Study.
BIZ THOMAS r. HENRY.

ana Ctudy.
By THOMAS r. HENRY.
The strongest evidence for life on
Mars, the planets green springs, was
controverted in report to astronomers
of the American Association for the Ad-
vancement of Science at Ottawa last
week.
Mars, like the earth, has its four sea-
sons which are opposite each other in
the northern and southern hemispheres.
During the winters there are great ice
caps, either of water or frozen carbon
dioxide, over the north and south poles.
With the coming of spring these gradu-
ally grow smaller and large green areas
begin to appear, spreading from the
poles toward the equator. A great part
of the southern hemisphere becomes
solid green. In the northern hemi-
sphere the green tends to spread south
ward in straight, narrow lines-the So
called canals. Between the green mark
ings are large. light-colored areas whose
hue never changes.
Most astronomers have been agreed
that this green came from vegetation
advancing with spring. Extremely cold
than that of earths highest mountain
tops, Mars still might support some form
Of plant life and if there are plants
there may be animals to feed on them.
Plants on earth owe their existence to
a complex chemical substance known
as chlorophyll. This is the green COL
orlng matter in leaves. BY means of it,
through the energy of sunshine, plants
are able to synthesize carbon dioxide
and water into their own substance
Thus chlorophyll is the cornerstone of
all life, for without 1t there would be
no plants for animals to feed on. 1t is
this sun energy, trapped tG chlorophyll,
which is stored in coal and oil.
Presumably astronomers have main
tained, Mars spring green is the
chlorophyil of leaves.
But an equator ward-moving spring is
hard to explain, even on Mars. Whether
the green is the green of foliage has
been impossible to test in the past with
available astrophysical methods. To-
day DR.. P M. Millman of the Dave
Dunlap Observatory at Richmond Hills,
Ontario, told the astronomers he had
been able by means of a Spectroscope
which splits light into its component
wave lengths to analyze the light from
green and light areas of the planet and
compare them
All light from Mars is reflected SUM-
light. Spectra of the reflected sunlight
from leaves or grass on earth show a
characteristic pattern. strong in wave
lengths of yellow green and very weak
in wave lengths of blue-green which are
absorbed by the chlorophyll. DR.. Mill
man found that exactly the opposite
was true of the light from Mars. The
yellow -green-the soft, -entrancing
green of terrestrial springtime-was
weakest where it should have been
strongest.
This only means that any plant life
on Mars depends upon chlorophyll.
Consequently it cannot be anything like
vegetation on earth. If there are forests
ests, but might conveicably be purple,
blue or pink forests. Also something
else besides chlorophyll, perhaps much
more powerful synthsizer of sugars and
starches, must have been developed
there.
The probability naturally is that the
green is not the green Of vegetation at
all, but due to some chemical change
brought about in the arid soil of the
planet when water from the polar re-
gions seeps into it. This would be more
in keeping with its progress away from
the poles. Another possibility, DR.. Mill
man said, is that it is an illusion due
to changes in the atmosphere of Mars
when its moisture is increased.
The light measurements constituted
one OF the most delicate bits of spec
troscopy ever reported. 1t was like, DR..
Millman said. determining the letters
on quarter held an eighth of a mile
away. Mars. a much smaller planet,
varies in distance from the earth from
$4,000 900 to 81 100000 miles Once every
two and half years the two planets
arrive opposite each other in their orbits.
They will be nearer each other than
they have been for IS years next July,
when DR.. Millman expects to repeat his
observations
The concept of life on Mars. possibly
much more advanced than that on earth
because evolution has had longer to
work. first arose because of the mathe-
matlcally straight canal-Nke markings
which looked as if they were the result
OF humanlike intelligence. Later OBJ
servations have not supported this and
extremely delicate measurements of
Mars temperature indicate that about
the only animals known on earth who
could live there are horned toads.
The blow given today to the plant
hypothesis makes even this possibility
very remote.
new tool for the pharmacist. bv
which complex drug extracts and DOW
ders can be identified in fraction of
the time required by older chemical
methods was described by DR.. Curt P.
WINNER of Columbia University.
This is ultraviolet fluorescense. The
substance to be analyzed is subjected
TO ultraviolet radiation. It changes
color IN characteristic way, depending
on what is in it. DR.. WINNER himself
mas catalogued the specific changes of
~ common drugs and proposed today
That the pharmaceutical branch of the
American Association name a committee
70 make up a standard table for all
drugs.
With this available drop on q blotter
would be sufficient for the pharmacist to
tell exactly what he was dealing with,