On the other hand, phenomena of the sort undetected of Schiaparelli
have been remarked at Flagstaff. On May 18, 1901, I was suddenly struck
by the singular whiteness of the southeast corner of Elysium where that
region bordered the Trivium. Elysium has a way of being bright but not
with such startling intensity as this spot presented nor in so
restricted an area as was here the case. The spot was so much whiter
than anything I had ever previously seen outside the polar caps that it
arrested my attention at once. And this the more that I had observed
this same part of the planet the day before and perceived nothing out
of the ordinary. Once detected, however, the spot continued visible.
The next day it was there with equal conspicuousness, and now thrust an
arm across the Cerberus, entirely obliterating the canal for the space
of several degrees. In this salience it remained day after day till the
region passed from sight, to reappear with it six weeks later when the
region again rounded into view. The hour of the Martian day seemed to
make no difference in its visibility. It was seen from early morning
till Martian afternoon, as late as the phase permitted. Clearly there
was nothing diurnal about its revealing, and it lasted for at least
three months and a half, until the planet got so far away that
observations were discontinued.
It was to all appearances and intents snow. But now comes the singular
fact about it. It lay within ten degrees of the equator and showed from
the end of June to the latter part of August. To our ideas there could
be no more inopportune place or time for such an exhibition. For it
cannot have been due to a snow-capped peak, as we know for certain that
there are no mountains in this, or in any other, part of the planet.
Besides, it had not appeared in previous Martian years; which it
infallibly would have done had it been a peak. Indeed, it baffles
explanation beyond any Martian phenomenon known to me. It seems
directly to contradict every other detail presented by the disk.
The phenomenon is thus unique in kind; it is not, however, unique as a
specimen of its kind. The eastern coast of Aeria where that region
borders the Syrtis Major is prone to a brilliance of the same sort. It
is a narrow belt of country that shows thus, nothing but the coastline
itself, but this for a considerable distance stretching several hundred
miles in length. It has stood out saliently bright now at every
opposition which I have observed, beginning with 1894. Sometimes it has
been described in the notes as bright simply, sometimes as white, and
once, in 1901, as glistening at one point like ice. Yet when upon the
terminator it has never stood forth as a mountain range should have
done to declare its character.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account