CHAPTER VII
THE CONDITION OF MARS
The planet Mars is the debatable ground between two opinions. Here, the two opposing views join issue; the controversy comes to a focus. The point in debate is whether certain markings—some linear, some circular—are natural or artificial. If, it is argued, some are truly like a line, without curve or break, as if drawn with pen, ink, and ruler; or others, so truly circular, without deviation or break, as if drawn with pen, ink, and compass; if, moreover, when we obtain more powerful telescopes, erected in better climates for observing, these markings become more truly lines and circles the better we see them; then they are artificial, not natural structures.
But artificial structures imply artificers. And if the structures are so designed as to meet the needs of a living organism, it implies that the living organism that designed them must have a reasonable mind lodged in a natural body. If, then, the “lines” and “circles” that Prof. Lowell and his disciples assert to be artificial canals and oases are really such, they premise the order of being that we call Man. But these canals and oases also premise the liquid that we call Water—water that flows and water utilized in cultivation. In this chapter we will leave out of count the first premiss—Man—and only deal with what concerns the second premiss—Water; with water that flows and is utilized in vegetation.
PLANETARY STATISTICS
| Minor Planets. | Inner Planets. | Outer Planets. | ||||||||
| Ceres | Moon | Mercury | Mars | Venus | Earth | Uranus | Neptune | Saturn | Jupiter | |
| Proportions of the Planets:— | ||||||||||
| Diameter in miles | 477 | 2163 | 3030 | 4230 | 7700 | 7918 | 31900 | 34800 | 73000 | 86500 |
| " ⊕ = 1 | 0·06 | 0·273 | 0·383 | 0·534 | 0·972 | 1·000 | 4·029 | 4·395 | 9·219 | 10·924 |
| Surface, ⊕ = 1 | 0·004 | 0·075 | 0·147 | 0·285 | 0·945 | 1·000 | 16·2 | 19·3 | 85·0 | 119·3 |
| Volume, ⊕ = 1 | 0·0002 | 0·02 | 0·06 | 0·15 | 0·92 | 1·00 | 65· | 85· | 760· | 1304· |
| Density, Water = 1 | 2·8 ? | 3·39 | 4·72 | 3·92 | 4·94 | 5·55 | 1·22 | 1·11 | 0·72 | 1·32 |
| " ⊕ = 1 | 0·5 ? | 0·61 | 0·85 | 0·71 | 0·89 | 1·00 | 0·22 | 0·20 | 0·13 | 0·24 |
| Mass, ⊕= 1 | 0·0001 | 0·012 | 0·048 | 0·107 | 0·820 | 1·000 | 14·6 | 17·0 | 94·8 | 317·7 |
| Gravity at surface, ⊕ = 1 | 0·028 | 0·17 | 0·33 | 0·38 | 0·87 | 1·00 | 0·90 | 0·89 | 1·18 | 2·65 |
| Rate of Fall, Feet in the First Second | 0·45 | 2·73 | 5·30 | 6·11 | 13·99 | 16·08 | 14·47 | 14·31 | 18·97 | 42·61 |
| Albedo | 0·14 | 0·17 | 0·14 | 0·22 | 0·76 | 0·50 ? | 0·60 | 0·52 | 0·72 | 0·62 |
| Details of Orbit:— | ||||||||||
| Mean Distance from Sun in millions of miles | 257·1 | 92·9 | 36·0 | 141·5 | 67·2 | 92·9 | 1781·9 | 2791·6 | 886·0 | 483·3 |
| " " Earth’s distance = 1 | 2·767 | 1·000 | 0·387 | 1·524 | 0·723 | 1·000 | 19·183 | 30·055 | 9·539 | 5·203 |
| Period of Revolution, in years | 4·60 | 1·00 | 0·24 | 1·88 | 0·62 | 1·00 | 84·02 | 164·78 | 29·46 | 11·86 |
| Velocity, in miles per second | 11·1 | 18·5 | 9·7 | 15·0 | 21·9 | 18·5 | 4·2 | 3·4 | 6·0 | 8·1 |
| Eccentricity | 0·0763 | 0·0168 | 0·2056 | 0·0933 | 0·0068 | 0·0168 | 0·0463 | 0·0090 | 0·0561 | 0·0483 |
| Aphelion Distance, Perihelion = 1 | 1·157 | 1·034 | 1·517 | 1·207 | 1·013 | 1·034 | 1·097 | 1·018 | 1·107 | 1·101 |
| Inclination of Equator to Orbit | (?) | 1°·32´ | (?) | 24°·0´ | (?) | 23°·27´ | (?) | (?) | 26°·49´ | 3°·5´ |
| d h m | d | h m s | h m s | h m | h m | h m | ||||
| Rotation period | (?) | 27·7·43 | 88(?) | 24·37·23 | (?) | 23·56·4 | 9·30(?) | (?) | 10·14± | 9·55± |
| Atmosphere, assuming the total mass of the atmosphere to be proportional to the mass of the planet:— | ||||||||||
| Pressure at the surface in lb. per sq. inch. | 0·014 | 0·40 | 1·6 | 2·1 | 11·1 | 14·7 | 11·9 | 11·5 | 19·4 | 103·8 |
| " " " in “atmospheres” | 0·0009 | 0·027 | 0·108 | 0·143 | 0·754 | 1·000 | 0·81 | 0·78 | 1·32 | 7·06 |
| Level of half surface pressure in miles | 119·0 | 19·6 | 10·1 | 8·8 | 3·8 | 3·3 | 3·7 | 3·8 | 2·8 | 1·3 |
| Boiling point of water at the surface | 22°C | 53°C | 53°C | 92°C | 100°C | 94°C | 93°C | 108°C | 166°C | |
| Temperature:— | ||||||||||
| Light and heat received from Sun, ⊕ = 1 | 0·13 | 1·00 | 6·67 | 0·43 | 1·91 | 1·00 | 0·003 | 0·001 | 0·011 | 0·037 |
| Reciprocal of square-root of distance, ⊕ = 1 | 0·60 | 1·00 | 1·61 | 0·81 | 1·18 | 1·00 | 0·23 | 0·18 | 0·32 | 0·44 |
| Equatorial temp. of ideal planet, Absolute | 188 | 312° | 502° | 253° | 368° | 312° | 71° | 56° | 101° | 137° |
| " " " " Centigrade | -65 | +39 | +229 | -20 | +95 | +39 | -202 | -217 | -172 | -136 |
| Average temp. of ideal planet, Absolute | 174 | 290 | 467 | 235 | 342 | 290 | 66 | 52 | 94 | 127 |
| " " " " Centigrade | -99 | +17 | +194 | -38 | +69 | +17 | -207 | -221 | -179 | -146 |
| Upper limit under zenith sun, Absolute | 248 | 412 | 664 | 337 | 486 | 412 | 94 | 74 | 133 | 180 |
| " " " " Centigrade | -25 | +139 | +391 | +64 | +213 | +139 | -179 | -199 | -140 | -93 |
| Average temp. of equivalent disc, Absolute | 223 | 371 | 598 | 300 | 438 | 371 | 84 | 67 | 120 | 162 |
| " " " " Centigrade | -50 | +98 | +325 | +27 | +165 | +98 | -189 | -206 | -153 | -111 |
For in regard to this particular premiss we can do away with hypothesis, and deal only with certain physical facts that are not controversial and are not in dispute.
The first of this series of facts concerning Mars about which there can be no controversy or dispute relates to its size and mass. As the foregoing Table shows, it comes between the Moon and the Earth in these respects.