Mars are struggling to preserve their existence by a planet-wide system of irrigation seems to be gaining ground; although he has had to contend against something of the same opposition that confronted Copernicus, Bruno and Galileo, and for very much the same reasons. The human mind resents anything that tends to belittle it, or its surroundings, and will not tolerate the idea of a rival.
It would seem, in all fairness, that a theory that fits all the observed facts as beautifully as Lowell's does deserves something better than disdainful disrespect, even from the most conservative. It is certainly far better than any theories and objections that do not meet the facts at all. As yet no other theory has been suggested that in an}' way accounts for the Martian markings. Until one is evolved that accounts for the facts better, Lowell's theory should Le accepted, by the most sceptical, as the only working hypothesis yet devised.
A very noteworthy achievement in the recent study of Mars is the series of remarkable photographs of the planet, taken by Mr. Lampland at Flagstaff, already he has succeeded in photographing many of the canals, and at the date of this writing[1] he has just photographed the Gihon double.
It seems as if, with the methods at present available, we probably shall not greatly increase our present knowledge of the planet. Even photography will probably be useful chiefly as a means of convincing the sceptical. But who can tell what the future may have in store? What astronomer of the early nineteenth century would have dreamed of the possibility of detecting, the composition of the stars, or determining their velocity in the line of sight? Some day a new method may increase our knowledge of Mars, as much as the discovery of the spectroscope opened up the heavens.
To most people "the proper study of mankind is man." But to those of us to whom the fact that we believe we have detected evidence of intelligent life in another planet seems of absorbing interest, Mars appears by far the most fascinating object in the heavens.
- ↑ July, 1907.
