MYSTERY OF MARS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19451, 28 March 1933, Page 2

MYSTERY OF MARS

THE LATEST RESEARCH. CURIOUS RESULTS. There is living matter on Mars. Nothing is more certain in the light of recent spectroscopic revelations; but whether life has remained in plant form only or developed to the animal stage is still a mystery. The oxygen present on Mars is usually reckoned as 15 per cent, of that on the earth. It is possible, as found by laboratory experiments, for human beings to accustom themselves gradually to this low content. In fact, volunteers have survived a concentration so low (in a sealed chamber) that a match would not light when struck. The blood makes up for the diminution of oxygen by an increase in red corpuscles (oxygen-carriers). Any hypothetical red-blood Martian creature would, of course, be born with extra carriers (writes H. C. M‘Kay in the Daily Telegraph, Sydney). Another question has recently been solved also—the temperature of Mars. It was once thought that in such a thin atmosphere heat would radiate away quickly, and so the planet would be too cold for life as we know it. But the thermocouple show:- that the temperature at noon on the Equator often reaches 67 degrees Fahrenheit; it may be as low as 45 (a Sydney winter day). It drops below freezing point at sunset. Obviously, intelligent, warm-blooded creatures could make provision for the cold night by burrowing into the i planet’s crust or making fires. As I there is water-vapour in the planet’s i atmosphere, there is probably rain and ! the recirculation of the water by ; evaporation from lakes and rivers. Judging by the appearance of the planet’s disc, there are no large oceans. For one reason, the sun would be reflected from an ocean in a brilliant spot or patch. None such has been seen. The polar caps are not likely to be snow. For one thing, they melt at too low temperature. Nor are they carbon-dioxide, as once surmised, as this melts at a still lower temperature than the caps. Recent photographs taken with ultra-violet and infra-red rays suggests that they are merely thin clouds, or haze. If they are snow the rate of melting shows the deposit to be only a few inches thick. They may be cold, high clouds over snow. Surface Nearly Level. Ultra-violet and infra-red photography have recently established that the planet’s atmosphere is 100 miles high, and fairly dense. (By fitting an infra-red photograph over an ultraviolet one, the rim given by the larger ultra-violet picture represents the depth of the atmosphere. Ultra-violet photos have also proved that what were once thought to be high mountains (seen when Mars is “gibbous”) are only high clouds. The surface is believed to be nearly level, with no heights above 2500 feet. What were once thought to be oceans are now considered areas of vegetation, as they lighten or darken in colour as the seasons pass. The streaks or “canals” are really other areas of vegetation. With the largest telescopes in the world, under best conditions of seeing, their hard outlines break up into a wreath of intricate detail. Of course, it Is quite possible, as Lowell and Pickering maintained, that the vegetation lines follow water courses. They may even be swamp areas, remnants of once much vaster lakes. Oxygen in Atmosphere. Another telling argument in favour of vegetation existing on Mars is the fact that there is oxygen present in the atmosphere. The only way a planet can keep a continued supply of oxygen is by plant activity. If there were no plants or trees to break up carbondioxide into carbon and oxygen, the supply of the’latter would vanish, due to processes of oxidation (ferrous to ferric rocks). If plants are present animals are also likely. How far their brains have developed may depend on what vicissitudes the planet had passed through. The Ice Ages on earth seem to have caused the appearance here of both warm-bloodedness and intelligence. Judging by her lack of mountains Mars does not seem to have passed through the upheavals and cataclysms that alter climate, and her land animals may be contented, brainless creatures. If they were “brainy,” Mars, being at a later stage of evolution than the earth, it is argued that they would try to communicate with us. But this is to dower them with human curiosity, eyesight, and inventions.