ON MARS

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXX, Issue 12263, 26 May 1934, Page 7

ON MARS

IS THEBE LIFE? ' THOSE BAFFLING CANALS- .. “Is there-life on Mars?” continues, of course,- to be the locates t <4 tunny questions which astronomers are seeking to answer. The evidence. for and against the. theory 01 si Vaco of Martians is reviewed below by DiV R. L. Wnlcefield, the fa mou s As iron o mica l Co-re s pondont of the, London “Daily News.” B-® shows, a.s hr says, to what, extent speculation ■ mbn-ut. rlmm. is legiti-, mate, and to what extent it is “p l,ro humbug.” ■

Maks is a (jU.-Vp-r of the smyo* l.he earth. Itp diameter, which, is known within about lit mires, >■’ about 4*21-1 miles. -In the reloscop* it presents' a suia.il circular disc; of a rosy pink on which are scattered dark greenish markings. At, either pole it-' is surmounted by a. d abr/l in g white- cap. As) on the etlh, there are seasons, mid-stun* ruer of, one of its hemispheres occurring at the some time ns midwinter in the opposite I rend sphere, but since its year is. twice as long as oi Vs, i-bo. planet taking, two of.outyears io travel round the sun, all h, s seasons are about, twice a-s long as our seasons.

'['lie ivhii-o cops ui, ihe two poles arc known to lie, snow. During the southsfjn summer [he southern cap melts arid grows very small, while the northern cap is again deposited and grows larger, since it is then winter in the northern hemisphere. The perfect regularity and seasonal nature of these changes in the dark markings have led to the practically 1 certain conclusion that they are composed of vegetation, which flourishes and becomes green when the. sm/imer brings water front the melting poles, and then Jades «n<l grows brown or yellow, as winter again deposited and grows larger, sine it is then winter in the northern hemisphere.. The perfect regularity and seasonal’ nature of those changes .in tho dark markings have led to the practically certain ■ conclusion that they are composed of vegetation,., which flourishes - and becomes glroon when the summer brings water from tho moliing polos, and then hades and grows brown or yellow as winter again sets in.

Tin* pink areas oh Mars which occupy tho greater part of its surface appear to he unionilo regions, mere deserts. As we shall presently see, tjioy are crossed here and there bv dusky streaks which, been use they undergo precise!v similar seasonal changes as Ihe main dusky markings, are believed to he. narrow belts of vegetation. These are the socalled “canals.”

By mails of the spectroscope —an instrument', which can ho used to determine the mature of a gas through which light is passing—the presence of both oxygen and wafer vapor has been detected in Aiars atmosphere. The spectroscope would also indicate that the atmosphere at the surinoo of the planet has somewhere between one-temh and one-quarter the pressure of our own atmosphereUnder such renditions we ourselves eon Id not exist; hui wo must, remember that these figures cannot, bo taken very literally, an 1 in the second place that there is no known reason why organisms should not become accustomed to exist under such low atmospheric pressures. Ale.asiiremo.nls of the 'temperature at Mars surface show that, the temperature in the temperate and tropical regions is well above freezing point, and may roach about 50dog. Fahrenheit.

Thu.s generally conditions on Mara arc not so very different from what they are on earth. It is a good deal cokler there on the whole, arid ihe atmosphere is probably rarer than it is on our highest mountains. But thee, is one big difference; on. Aiars there are no oceans. Water, apparently, is very scarce.

Of this inucfi, therefore, we are practically certain: The conditions on Stars arc such as to ho capable oi supporting life of a sort, and, further ,there i s life at least in the form of vegetation. The further question a.s to -whether there is into! I i gout life on Aiars an not yet he answered with any certainty at all. There are, however, certain appearances in connection with the . socalled “canals” and certain rather remarkable changes occurring in the outlines of the dark -green anarkftigs which hro taken by .some a s evidence of an intelligent race of beings living oil the planet.. Running out of the -regions of vegetation and traversing the/ rosy pink deserts aro curious straight dusky streaks. That they also represent 'fertile bolts of vegetation theo is little doubt,-but iwlmt i s remarkable about them is their sfcraifehtatoss. Unfortunately they are so. close to the- limit of what ,one can see that on© is doubtful of what exactly in them one does see. Some maintain that they are, many of them, almost geometrically fine linos of mathematical straightness; others, again, claim that they aro diffuse and fairly wide and when the observing conditions or© • specially good a-r© broken up into discontiunuos lumps and spots. In my opinion, th© “canals” do leave one with nil impression

of something- a little unnatural. There i s another piece' of evidence, that Jias been put forward in, favour of intelligent life on A Lars. That is the curious way in which certain tin gions o vegetation may persist unchanged in -shape and position for many years, then he replaced by, a different configuration for another period of years, and t-lien, again reappear identically as they were i,n the first instance. This is very difficult to explain n,s any natural phenomenon, and tile suggestion ha-s been , put forward tIuYS it may represent tlio, fallowing of land on a largo scale. But is is dangerous ,to take the suggestions too seriously. The only way to come to any conclusion, is to continue to observe Mars' over along period of time.