The Martian CanalsBy Jeff Lindsey

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The Martian Canals

The Planet:Mars is the 4th planet away from the Sun in our solar system. As our neighbor it shares many similarities of earth. It has ice caps, volcanoes, storms and seasons. As the technology of astronomy has progressed, mankind has been intrigued by the surface features of Mars and this has led to much speculation over it’s features, namely the Martian canals.

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The Martian Canals

Early perceptions:In 1877, an Italian astronomer named Giovanni Schiaparelli “discovered” what he thought was a system of ravines and gullies on mars and named them “Canali”. This ignited the imagination of fellow scientists and led to wild speculation on their use and possible origins.

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The Martian Canals

Early perceptions:By 1894 astronomers had acquired telescopes with better resolution and higher power. Here is a map drawn by Eugene Antonadi, redrawn by Lowell Hess, compared to a modern image taken by the Hubble Space telescope that shows how the images they saw were interpreted by then modern science.

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The Martian Canals

Early Perceptions:In 1894, Percival Lowell constructed a telescope in Flagstaff, AZ. Based upon his observations he wrote a series of books from 1895 to 1908 about the “non natural” features of the planet’s surface. His theory was that an advanced but dying culture had built the canals to draw water from the polar ice caps to save their dry, dying civilization.

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The Martian Canals

Modern Perceptions:Oddly enough, one of the same scientists who advocated the canal theory, Eugene Antoniadi, later refuted it in 1909 based upon advances in technology both in astronomy and with the use of spectroscopic analysis.

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The Martian Canals

Modern perception:In 1965, with the arrival of the Mariner spacecraft to Mars, this provided definitive proof that the canals were indeed based on myth. This notion was explained as streaks of dust carried by winds down from craters and mountains or a trick effect of lighting. This was further reinforced by satellite imagery that confirmed Mars was a dead planet and could not contain water.

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The Martian Canals

Todays Reality:Thanks to modern science, as recently as 2004 the Mars Exploration rovers have discovered the presence of liquid water on Mars. As the planet goes through it’s seasons much like Earth does, it heats up and causes mysterious streaks to appear which then disappear when it gets cold. Scientists now supposition that it is evidence of melted, salty water running down slopes during the Martian summer.

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The Martian Canals

Conclusion:Recent scientific advancements such as NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have now revealed the possibility of flowing water during the summer months on Mars. This could tie in to the apparent canal system on Mars. There are still many questions to be answered about the Martian Canals. Are there forms of life hitherto unknown on the planet? Is there enough water on the planet to sustain life? Only through the advancement of science will these questions, and many others be answered.

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The Martian Canals

Historical Event:• 1877 – Giovanni Schiaparelli coins the term canals based on his

observation of Mars.• 1894 - Eugene Antonadi maps in detail what appear to be an intricate

system of canals based on his observation of Mars.• 1908 – Percival Lowell writes 3 books about the existence of canals on

Mars to draw water from the only known source at the polar ice caps.• 1909 – Eugene Antonadi now refutes his own work based upon advances

in technology with both astronomy and the use of spectroscopic analysis• 1965 – Mariner spacecraft land on Mars and declare it to be a dry barren

world.• 2011 – NASA announces that the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has

detected what appears to be flowing salty water on Mars.

The Martian Canals

Social and Historical Context of Event:With the advent of the telescope, astronomers began to speculate about what they saw on the surface features of Mars. Throughout history, as more and better technology became available, scientists have made revisions to their hypothesis and theories about the Canals on Mars as better information became available.And then more recently, as highly technical data has become available, scientists now declare that Mars has flowing salty water and that most likely the canals that have been observed once contained active running water. What is interesting is that through the use of technology, the discussion of the presence of water on Mars, namely through the Canals, has come full circle based entirely on the scientific method.

The Martian Canals

Impact of Historical Event:At first, based on simple observation, it seemed that the strange lines on Mars must be canals for the delivery of water. Later, based on scientific studies and better information, scientists have made many contradictory claims about the presence of water on Mars based on the best information available to them at the time.• Mars has surface water that flows in canals that stretch across the globe.• Mars is a barren world and that water only existed at the poles. • Mars indeed does have surface water and that the canals represent the

areas where water once flowed and may still flow on a subsurface level.

The Martian Canals

Analysis Support :And then more recently, as highly technical data has become available, scientists now declare that Mars has flowing salty water and that most likely the canals that have been observed once contained active running water. What is interesting is that through the use of technology, the discussion of the presence of water on Mars, namely through the Canals, has come full circle based entirely on the scientific method. When science initially proclaimed that Mars must have water,, to refute that and then claim that it is a dry barren world, and then ultimately and recently to state that Mars indeed does have water proves that:• Mars at one time had large amounts of water on the surface• Mars still has a presence of water not only at the caps but on the surface

and or subsurface layers.

The Martian Canals

ReferencesGraphic 1: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/allaboutmars/mystique/Graphic 2: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/allaboutmars/mystique/Graphic 3: http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/S/Schiaparelli.htmlGraphic 4: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap031112.htmlGraphic 5: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percival_LowellGraphic 6: http://www.dailygalaxy.com/.a/6a00d8341bf7f753ef01676281c370970b-piGraphic 7: http://naturalistshistory.blogspot.com/2012/01/lesson-eleven-face-on-mars-reality-or.htmlGraphic 8: http://www.astrobio.net/pressrelease/4136/water-flows-on-the-surface-of-marsGraphic 9: http://www.dipity.com/tickr/Flickr_marvin_martian/