MARS. 



A CRITICAL STUDY OF THE FACTS. 



By J. E. MAXWELL, F.R.A.S. 



There are some who have an immutable, almost 

 sacred, con\-iction that the tiny speck of cosmic 

 dust on which Fate has placed us is the only body 

 in the universe worthy of being a theatre of life. 



Even if there were no positive evidence of life 

 in any other world, such a belief would seem to 

 me to be unreasonable. I cannot help thinking 

 that it owes its origin to the old religious con- 

 ception of the Earth as the centre of the universe, 

 which was the basis of the opposition to the 

 Copernican view of the solar system. 



Those who attempt to mould facts into com- 

 patibility with their unwritten creeds would be 

 well advised to abandon either their science or 

 their creeds, or even both, since their science, thus 

 influenced, cannot be sound, and their creeds, in 

 their narrow and undeveloped state, can rest but 

 on a very slender basis. 



The universal acceptation of the fact of the 

 plurality of worlds is, to my mind, of the Utmost 

 importance. The broadening effect it would have 

 on the minds of men is incalculable. 



In the facts which have been gleaned from the 

 planet Mars, chiefly by Professor LoweU, we would 

 seem to have that for which we could never have 

 dared to hope : actual positive evidence of the 

 present existence in another world, not of mere life 

 only, but of a high state of civilisation and mental 

 development. 



The study of Mars, then, is of the utmost 

 philosophic importance ; for herein lies our one 

 chance of proving beyond dispute the plurality 

 of inhabited worlds. 



It is now definitely asserted that Mars is at 

 present peopled by beings of a high mentality, in 

 a state of civilisation greater than is at present to 

 be found upon the Earth. 



There is evidence that it is possible on Mars for 

 all the inhabitants to combine in a work which is 

 planet-v\ade in its dimensions. Such a feat is, 

 alas! at present impossible amongst Earthians. 

 Two seemingly friendly nations cannot agree about 

 so trivial a matter as a Channel tunnel. 



We will not waste any more words. Having, 

 it is hoped, impressed upon the reader the import- 

 ance of the subject, let us proceed to a critical 

 examination of the facts about Mars, which indi- 

 cate the existence of ultramundane intelligence. 



In all probability every reader of " Knowledge " 

 already knows what is meant by the expression 

 " canals of Mars." The canals are very fine, 

 hair-like markings, which intersect the whole 

 surface of the planet. Professor Lowell estimates 



that they are five or six hundred in number. With 

 one or two exceptions, each runs in the most direct 

 manner possible from one point on the planet's 

 surface to another. They follow the arcs of great 

 circles owing to the curvature of the planet's 

 surface. They thus appear straight when near the 

 centre of the disc. 



It has been said that "canals" which are seen 

 straight when at the centre of the disc have con- 

 tinued to look straight, and be so drawn when 

 near the edge of the disc. This is in many instances 

 quite true, and can be explained. 



In the first place, the limb appears so bright by 

 contrast with the surrounding sky that generally no 

 markings can be seen very near the edge of the disc, 

 so that "canals" are never seen curved to any 

 very marked degree. In the second place, canals 

 are often such delicate objects that slight observ- 

 ational and areographical errors are bound to 

 occur. In the third place — and this is most import- 

 ant — when a curved line is placed in proximity to 

 a line of greater curvature, it tends to appear 

 straight to most, if not all, observers. Hence canals 

 close to the limb, though in reaUty curved, tend 

 to appear much straighter than they could possibly 

 be. This is a well-known optical illusion. In 

 many cases, " canals " near the limb actually are 

 represented as being curved. 



In length the canals run to thousands of miles : 

 their breadth is immeasurably small, and can only 

 be ascertained by comparison with the appearance 

 of wires of known gauge at known distances. 



There can be no doubt but that there is an 

 objective appearance of straight lines on Mars. 



There are, however, some who doubt whether 

 this appearance is given by actual linear markings 

 on the planet's surface, or by objects which are 

 resolvable into less regular formations unlikely to 

 be of artificial origin. 



It can, of course, be shown that irregular objects 

 seen from a distance may appear regular. A line 

 of dots, irregularly disposed between two points, 

 will give, when viewed from a sufficient distance, 

 the appearance of a straight line. Hence an object, 

 giving the appearance of a straight fine, may be 

 composed of a chain of dots. It does not follow, 

 however, that whenever a continuous line is seen 

 it is necessarily composed of a row of dots. As 

 a matter of fact, if the canals of Mars be composed 

 of broken chains of irregular markings, it can be 

 calculated that the interspaces must be very small, 

 as the canals appear unbroken under high mag- 

 nification. If both the single and double canals 



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