| MadSci Network: Science History |
We knew that Mars...
...was the 4th planet in our solar system.
...rotated around the Sun in 687 days.
...had two moons: Deimos, the outer moon, had a revolution rate of 30hrs, 18min., had a diameter of 5-6 miles and was 12500 miles from Mars' surface; Phobos, the inner moon, had a revolution rate of 7hrs, 39min., and was 3700 miles from the Mars' surface.
...had dark splotches and lines across its surface that had already been named. In the 1890s there was serious debate as to the nature of the dark splotches on Mars-interpreted to be canals, or waterways, by some. This has now been attributed as a misinterpretation of Schiaparelli's maps in which he termed these dark streaks canali, or channels in Italian, referring simply to their shape and not their function as waterways. The 1896 book mentioned below contains quite a bit of discussion about the canals of Mars, including how it appears that they fill and empty of something as the Mars' seasons change.
...had a rotation rate of 24 hours, 37 minutes, 22.67 seconds.
...had an axis that was inclined 27° with respect to the plane of its orbit. This gave Mars seasons like those on Earth.
...had white polar regions of some kind that seemed to change in size - due to the seasons on Mars, which are longer than those of the Earth.
...had a diameter of 4200 miles, roughly 0.55xEarth diameter
...had a thin atmosphere.
All of what we knew about Mars had only to do with what we could observe through telescopes. The 20th century brought us a possible sample of Mars, some geologic data, several unmanned visits and a much better understanding of the features of Mars. Unfortunately, with the loss of the Polar Lander, we will not be able to answer the great debate of the 1890s as to the existence of water on Mars during this century. Perhaps the 21st century can give us a manned mission to Mars and the answers to many of our questions. It might also bring even more questions!
Astronomers with notable discoveries related to Mars up to 1900:
2 Good Books (notably 100 years apart):
Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Science History.