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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 neighborit shares many similarities of earth. It has ice caps, volcanoes, storms andseasons. As the technology of astronomy has progressed, mankind has beenintrigued by the surface features of Mars and this has led to muchspeculation over its 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 planets 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 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 its seasons much like Earth

does, it heats up and causes mysterious streaks to appear whichthen 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 asNASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

have now revealed the possibility offlowing water during the summer

months on Mars. This could tie in to theapparent canal system on Mars. Thereare still many questions to be answeredabout the Martian Canals. Are thereforms of life hitherto unknown on theplanet? Is there enough water on theplanet to sustain life? Only through the

advancement of science will thesequestions, and many others beanswered.

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The Martian Canals

References

Graphic 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.html

Graphic 4: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap031112.html

Graphic 5: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percival_Lowell

Graphic 6:

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/.a/6a00d8341bf7f753ef01676281c370970b-pi

Graphic 7: http://naturalistshistory.blogspot.com/2012/01/lesson-eleven-

face-on-mars-reality-or.html

Graphic 8: http://www.astrobio.net/pressrelease/4136/water-flows-on-the-

surface-of-mars

Graphic 9: http://www.dipity.com/tickr/Flickr_marvin_martian/

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