Pharaoh's Broker: Being the Very Remarkable Experiences in Another World of Isidor WernerDouglass, Ellsworth
Science
Pharaoh's Broker: Being the Very Remarkable Experiences in Another World of Isidor Werner
Douglass, Ellsworth
Science fiction
"Then it was Phobos without a doubt, and she is due to appear again in
the west in three hours and fifty minutes after she sets in the east. We
must watch closely, for I wish to land upon her and make a flying trip
all around Mars with her. Do you realize what a glorious view we shall
have of the great planet, sailing around him on this satellite in a
period of a little over seven and a half hours, and at a distance of
only about four thousand miles? There will be no night, for if one side
of the little moon is heavier than the other, the heavier side will
always be turned toward Mars. Therefore, when the Sun does not shine on
Phobos, Mars will do so, and keep her continually illuminated, except
for the brief period of the regular eclipse during each revolution. And
one-fourth of the entire heavens, as seen from Phobos, will be filled
with the glowing orb of Mars! The great planet will exhibit to us at a
near range all the configurations of his surface, his oceans and his
clouds. We will survey and photograph him to our hearts' content."
The doctor was justly enthusiastic on this subject, and I felt that such
a landing would, in some measure, compensate for my disappointment in
not being able to visit the Moon.
As I watched carefully, the satellite finally came into view, but very
much more distant from Mars than before. Also, it moved very slowly now,
and seemed to grow larger as it approached the disc. I pointed it out to
the doctor, and remarked that it was acting quite differently. Just as
it entered upon the orb of Mars, another moon, somewhat smaller, mounted
hurriedly from the under side of the planet and began hastily ploughing
her way over the ruddy disc.
"That last one is the one I saw before, that is my Phobos!" I cried
excitedly.
"Then the other slow one is Deimos, the outer moon. She appears the
larger to us now, because her greater distance from Mars makes her
nearer to us, but she appears to the Martians as the smaller. We must
observe closely, and we may discover some new and lesser satellites
which Earthly telescopes have never found."
"Time enough for that when we land on Mars," I answered. "If we get in
past these two without being hit, I shall be satisfied. You dare not
venture in front of that Phobos, and I don't see how you can ever
overtake her if you approach from behind."
"That reminds me to slacken speed, for we must be getting very near," he
said. "Please weigh yourself every few minutes and note your increasing
weight. You should weigh seventy-two pounds on Mars, and eight pounds at
the distance of Phobos."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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