SEEING LIFE ON MARS

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXI, Issue 4954, 11 February 1937, Page 5

SEEING LIFE ON MARS

MAN BEHIND BIGGEST TELESCOPE. PROPHECIES IN LONDON. \ ————— (From a Special Correspondent). (By Air Mail). London, January 2. Proof of life on Mars may soon be discovered by Dr. Edwin Hubble, of Mount Wilson Observatory, California, when he peers through the £1,250,000 telescope which has nearly been completed. Dr. Hubble, cheery 47-year-old scientist, who is in London, spoke this week of some of the secrets he hopes to discover when the “lai-gest ever” telescope is finished. “It is almost terrifying to think what the new 200-inch reflector telescope will reveal,” he said. “For example, there is a lot of speculation as to whether there is life on the planet Mars. We cannot even guess at this possibility at the moment. With the new telescope we may be able to establish the presence of vegetable life. We may aid discovery by establishing the fact that there is another woi-ld where human creatures could live.” The new telescope weighs about 30 tons, and its 200-inch reflector will be polished down to a smoothness that will be accurate to a millionth of an inch. “Many people have wondered why we have the world’s greatest telescope in California. It is because of the climate and clear atmosphere. There are very few other places in the world where such a telescope could be erected,” said Dr. Hubble.