114 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXI. No. 786 



Boston blackboard show that it may become 

 possible to determine the relation between 

 the present space locus of the instant when 

 John Hancock finished his signature to a cer- 

 tain immortal document, and the present time 

 locus of the point in space which his center of 

 gravity then occupied. 



Francis E. Nipher 



J "geometrical" canals on mars? 



A SUGGESTION 



At the present writing, Mars is traveling 

 rapidly away from the earth, but, unfortu- 

 nately, its mystery remains. Much was ex- 

 pected from the observations to be made at 

 the recent opposition, the most favorable one 

 in some respects since 1892; and the planet 

 has in fact been studied eagerly and carefully 

 with telescopes of many sizes and kinds, and 

 all the resources made available by the ad- 

 vance in our knowledge of .photographic and 

 spectroscopic processes have been drawn upon 

 to aid in solving the problems Mars presents. 

 The details of these observations, for the most 

 part, have not yet been published, but enough 

 has been written to show that the average 

 astronomer, as well as the intelligent layman, 

 is left in as great doubt as to the actual con- 

 figuration of the surface of Mars and the 

 meteorological conditions prevailing there as 

 he was a year ago. 



Even the fundamental question as to the 

 size of telescope best adapted to the study of 

 planetary detail remains an open one. On 

 the one hand, an expert areographer, owner 

 of a 24-inch refractor, has repeatedly claimed 

 for his telescope " greater space-penetrating 

 powers " (due to the combined excellences of 

 his lens and his atmosphere) than those pos- 

 sessed by any other in the world, and says 

 that it is by virtue of these powers that he 

 can see Martian details invisible elsewhere. 

 On the other hand, an astronomer in charge 

 of a much larger refractor has recently said 

 that his telescope was ioo powerfuV to show 



^ It is rather amusing, by the way, to note that 

 some of our European friends seem to have missed 

 entirely the point of this remark and have, indeed, 

 taken it so seriously as to be offended! 



the canals on Mars. Again we are told that 

 to get the best results in such studies we must 

 use comparatively small telescopes or " cap 

 down " the object glasses of the larger instru- 

 ments — even a 24-ineh aperture is improved 

 by this process, it is said. 



It is hardly necessary to call attention to 

 the very diverse views held by areographers 

 not only as to the interpretation to be put 

 upon many of the markings observed on Mars 

 — in particular, the geometrical network of 

 the " canals " — but even as to their objective 

 reality. Some optimists had hoped that pho- 

 tography would effectually dispose of all doubts 

 on the latter point, and Mr. Lowell, indeed, 

 has stated that his photographs have forever 

 settled the matter. But one needs only to 

 compare the drawing made by M. E. M. An- 

 toniadi, himself an expert student of Martian 

 topography, from forty of Mr. Lowell's pho- 

 tographs'^ with the direct prints from other 

 photographs published by Mr. Lowell himself^ 

 to realize that the " doctors disagree " as 

 earnestly as ever. It would seem that the 

 time has come for the experts to reach some 

 definite agreement on these questions, and it 

 is because I have a suggestion to offer that 

 appears to be practicable and that would, if 

 followed, undoubtedly clear the atmosphere, 

 that I, who am merely an interested student, 

 not an expert, have ventured to write this note. 



Mr. Percival Lowell has long been known 

 as the chief advocate of the view that the 

 Martian " canals " and other delicate surface 

 markings on the planet which he has so fully 

 observed and described are objective realities, 

 and that they offer unmistakable evidence of 

 intelligent life on the planet. He has not only 

 published his observations and conclusions in 

 detail in technical publications, but he has 

 also virritten several popular books on Mars — 

 " science that reads like romance " — to sup- 

 port these views. He has also claimed over 

 and over again that his telescope and his 

 geographical location give him facilities for 



^ Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 

 Vol. LXIX, p. 110, 1908. 



^ Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, 

 Stries A, Vol. 177, p. 132, 1906. 



