Lowell’s Canals on Mars
Posted by Darin Hayton on 09/09 at 02:54 PM
From 1894 through 1906 Percival Lowell observed Mars. He published his findings in three volumes in the Annals of the Lowell Observatory.
In these volumes Lowell presented his detailed observations of the planet. He was particularly interested in the non-natural features on the Martian surface. He claimed that the surface was covered in canals and oases.
Over the decade he produced increasingly detailed drawings of the canals on Mars, claiming that not only had he discovered single canals, but also double canal structures.
Lowell claimed that the surface features varied with the Martian season. He further claimed that the canals had been built by an intelligent civilization to convey water from the polar ice caps to the arid parts of the planet.
These canals seemed to confirm Lowell’s conviction that Mars was not only inhabitable but also inhabited. While his theories enjoyed considerable popular success—he published three books on the Maritan canals—astronomers were skeptical. In the end, Lowell’s canals were rejected. Lowell’s Martians seem to have been an artifact of his imagination as much as his Planet X.