THE STRANGE MARKINGS ON MARS. 41 



THE STRANGE MARKINGS ON MARS. 



By GAEEETT P. SEEVISS. 



IN the whole planetary empire of the sun there is but one body, 

 if we except the moon, whose actual surface can be satisfac- 

 torily examined even with the most powerful telescope. The 

 broad disk of Jupiter presents a most inviting and splendid sight ; 

 but it is apparent that we are not looking at the solid shell of a 

 planet, but at a vast expanse of thick clouds, surrounding and 

 concealing the planetary core, and reflecting the sunlight from 

 their shifting surfaces. Saturn presents a somewhat similar 

 appearance, modified by greater distance. Uranus and Neptune 

 are so nearly beyond the present reach of telescopes, so far as 

 the phenomena of their disks are concerned, that we know almost 

 nothing of their surface appearances. Some observations of Ura- 

 nus, however, indicate that it presents the same equatorial paral- 

 lelism of exterior markings that characterizes Jupiter and Saturn ; 

 and so we may infer that what we faintly discern on its disk are 

 the outlines of cloud-masses, enveloping the planet, and drawn 

 out by the effects of its rotation into belts and streaks. Coming 

 to the nearer planets, we find that Venus, superbly brilliant to 

 the naked eye, and consequently, it might naturally be thought, 

 a promising object for telescopic scrutiny, is nevertheless the most 

 disappointing of all the planets when viewed with a telescope. 

 The splendor of its luminosity in itself forms an obstacle to the 

 study of its surface, where flitting glimpses of shadowy forms 

 and brilliant spots only serve to excite the keenest curiosity. 

 With respect to Mercury, our knowledge is equally unsatisfac- 

 tory. The surface of the moon, of course, has been well studied, as 

 such maps as those of Beer and Madler, Neison and Schmidt suf- 

 ficiently attest. But, after all, the absence of the faintest indica- 

 tion of life robs the wonderful lunar landscapes of a large share 

 of the interest that would otherwise attach to them. 



Finally, we look at Mars, and here at last we find a globe 

 whose true surface we can inspect, and which at the same time 

 possesses an atmosphere and other concomitants of vital organiza- 

 tion. Since Mars has been selected by more than one astronomer 

 as the probable abode of life (and perhaps the only one besides 

 the Earth in the solar system), and especially since a discussion 

 of the markings seen upon the planet necessarily involves the 

 physical features upon which the theory of Mars's fitness for 

 inhabitation rests, it will be well to recall here the principal facts 

 that have been ascertained respecting that interesting orb. 



The diameter of Mars is 4,200 miles, or only some 240 miles 



