Scientists will be Scientists- The French astronomer Camille Flammarion, back in 1892 published his thoughts on Mars, including his map, based solely upon  observations made through a small telescope. The modest book was titled  La Planète Mars, et ses conditions d'habitabilité (Mars and its conditions of habitability), and was 608 pages long !. Three years later, American Percival Lowell wrote -excuse me, published, authors write, Scientists publish-his book, Mars, in which he constructed a whole history of  the Martians working together to build canals to water their dying world.. Where did they get these crazy ideas?

	Two maps : top, Antoniadi's map from the 1920s ; below, Schiaparelli's 1877 map
	It is on Schiaparelli's map that Cydonia first appears as a place name  on Mars. Still no clue as to why he picked it- Flammarion's glib explanation that S. "used various Classical Earth names and generic descriptive terms like Mare Australe (Southern Sea)" tells us nothing. He worked on the map from 1877 to 1886, so there are several variations around.

When Mars and earth are in opposition, with the relative orbits as close as they get, you can see quite a lot of surface detail with even a modest telescope. During such periods in the 1870s and 1880s, Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli saw what appeared to be a network of fine lines on the Martian surface. It is usually stressed that he meant  lines or grooves, not ditches. Although he did sometimes use the alternate word fiume, which in Italian, means "river" ,  his notorious, more often used  word was  canali ("lines"), which became translated into "canals". I think he meant it both ways- these guys all corresponded, so he had plenty of opportunity to clarify his position before it got compounded  by Percival Lowell, if he had wished to. Even earlier observers had noted the changes of surface features on the Red Planet which seemed seasonal, so linking those two ideas together, voila (or should I say presto), you had irrigation systems and therefore, Martians. Ever since the first telescopic observations of Mars in the 17th c., dramatic periodic changes in the Martian landscape had been noted- one prominent feature named Spitze B or Arrowhead was seen in the 1700s by Hershel and others, a vast triangle as visible as Syrtis Major. It is no longer discernable at all- we know of it only from the old records. These early observers also noted and identified the Martian polar caps, so they were sure of the presence of water. The concept of an irrigation system was not that large a leap.

Since it won't fit anywhere else, this would be a good spot for me to record my own opinion on what the shifting greenish areas might be. I think we are seeing moss and lichen growing on the ruins. The structures provide shelter from the dust storms in the nooks and crannies, retain some heat, and offer a place where  moisture can condense.  Unless the atmosphere is a good bit denser than we are told (which is always possible), I doubt the surviving plant life on the surface is much more sophisticated than moss, lichen, and ferns. We will just have to go there and find out.

Interestingly, as we will see later, there is a connection between the ancestors of the Maya and Incan peoples and Mars. In South America and even in the American Southwest, there are the remains to this day of  extensive and sophisticated irrigation networks that once watered lands which are now desert. Perhaps Edgar Rice Burroughs was on to something after all...

 I am not going to cover extensive biographies of all the pioneers. There are many sources of  far greater authority than myself where you can find that information.. But while we are on the subject of the early research, a few more comments on Schiaparelli are pertinent. For one thing, he was color blind, the red-green type. This probably gave him exceptional acuity in the perception of subtle details, which aided in his efforts to quickly sketch his observations. If that seems strange, let me say I once worked for an Art publisher who had that same affliction, and though he needed to have his wife coordinate his tie with his suit, his eye for detail was indeed exceptional.. Anyway, Schiaparelli could see colors, they were just jumbled. Why does that matter? Well, in his notes, he ( I am quoting from William Sheehan's  The Planet Mars, A History of Observation and Discovery ) saw things which seem very relevant to our investigation here...

There were, for instance, two or three occasions in October 1877 when he witnessed "moments of absolute atmospheric calm. In these circumstances it seemed as if a veil were removed from the surface of the planet, which appeared like a complex embroidery of many colors. But such was the minuteness of these details, and so short the duration of their visibility, that it was not possible to form a stable and sure impression of the thin lines and minute spots therein revealed."

 Complex embroidery of colors, huh? Wonder if the NASA people read that before  they decided that Mars was going to be orange, orange, nothing rhymes with orange, and that was that?

	In this detail from a Viking image, you can see some of those grooves over on the right, though this is probably a little closer view than Schiaparelli had. He was undoubtedly referring instead to the larger-scale and less distinct linear features. Most of the time.

 

		Above, another piece of a Viking image. The thumbnail  at left will take you to a wallpaper-sized close-up.

Remember all those instruments on the Viking landers? Remember the one that showed active growth from soil samples in a culture medium, yet NASA decided the results could not indicate Life, despite the lack of any other credible explanation, so they discredited the scientist who designed the experiment rather than change the preconception?  Didn’t that make his bosses incompetents for not adequately vetting the equipment? And if they were convinced there was nothing to find, why did they include the experiment? That sounds like a rather expensive and arrogant gesture of self-affirmation. Oops, it proved them wrong. Move over, Galileo, you have company on the bench. The son of that scientist from Viking, named Levin, recently earned his own seat by making public statements about some Rover photos that "seemed to show" the possibility of open pools of standing water. This was allowed to gather a few days of publicity. Then someone from the anomalist community (you know, those poor deluded non-scientists who make outrageous claims about artifacts on other planets) pointed out that the area in question was at a 45 degree angle, so there couldn't be a flat pool of water. Oops. None of those real Scientists had noticed. There is a good chance that the younger Levin was being set up. Or the ASU Rover team are just boobs. Take your pick. I favor the first option.

	Mossy, or just messy?  Rover image  1P157924936EFF40B8P2366L2M1 (whew!) detail

The NASA press office is today still making a fuss about the possibility of water. Oh, really? After thirty years, you are still uncertain whether there is any water on a planet with visible ice caps? Never mind the dry ice there- the stuff that melts and reforms seasonally, which can easily be observed with a small telescope from Earth, that is water. You even admit that much. The problem is that the Official model of the Martian climate does not show how the water could circulate to and from the ice cap, you say? There are clouds in an atmosphere supposedly too thin to carry significant moisture? So you are looking for traces in the soil? Speaking of soil, how come there are those visible seasonal changes anyway? Bet that would make a really interesting geology study- since there’s no plant life, of course.  Where is that paper, by the way? Gee, you guys sure have trouble making up your minds, don’t you? The water obviously has to come from and go somewhere., and it probably does something along the way. Are you sure you’re telling us…anything? I got more useful information about the Martian ecosystem from watching Total Recall. What the Hell are you doing with our money? I should probably get a consulting fee for that analysis, thank you very much.

Do not assume that all of this will be nothing more than a protracted diatribe against Evil Scientists. But neither should you expect too much compassion- that can be found from many sources. There is no excuse for doing the wrong thing.  It happens, we all can be potentially guilty of  that-  but there are always Consequences.

 Those of good character make amends. The rest pray they won’t be caught. A situation which promises Protection from Consequences is in itself a Bad Thing. Now, quick- am I talking about Salvation, or talking about working for NASA? See how confusing the Truth can be?

esa 328-080607-4136-6-nd-01-AeolisMensae ( a tiny bit of a detail)
		“The geology of Mars is unlike any Earthly geology.”     uh, yeah, I think we got that part.