Why Martian Canals Still Matter

A century ago, many thought Mars was scored by a canal system constructed by an advanced civilization - an idea championed by astronomer Percival Lowell. Why? How did an astronomer come to this conclusion? Today we explore the canal phenomenon and discuss why it's a crucial allegory from history - pertinent now more than ever. Written & presented by Prof David Kipping.

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::References::

► Lowell, P., 1895, "Mars", Houghton, Mifflin and Co., MA

► Lowell, P., 1906, "Mars and Its Canals", The Macmillian Company, NY

► Lowell, P., 1908, "Mars As the Abode of Life", The Macmillian Company, NY

► Sheehan, W., 1997, "Giovanni SchiaparelliVisions of a colour blind astronomer", JBAA, 107, 11

► Lowell, A. L., 1935, "Biography of Percival Lowell", The Macmillian Company, NY

► Dollfus, A., 1909, "The first Pic du Midi photographs of Mars", l'Astronomie, 2009, 27

► Sheehan, W., 1988, "Planets and Perception: Telescopic Views and Interpretations, 1609-1909", University of Arizona Press, AZ

► Rosenthal & Fode, 1963, "The effect of experimenter bias on the performance of the albino rat", Syst. Res., 8, 183

► Evans & Maunder, 1903, "Experiments as to the actuality of the Canals observed on Mars", MNRAS, 63, 488

► Van de Kamp, P., 1969, "Alternate dynamical analysis of Barnard's star", AJ, 74, 757

► Gatewood & Eichhorn, 1973, "An unsuccessful search for a planetary companion of Barnard's star BD +4 3561", AJ, 78, 769

► Bailes, Lyne, & Shemar, 1991, "A planet orbiting the neutron star PSR182910", Nature, 352, 311

► Bailes, M., Lyne, A. & Shemar, S., 1991, "A planet orbiting the neutron star PSR182910", Nature, 352, 311

► Wolszczan, A. & Frail, D., 1992, "A planetary system around the millisecond pulsar PSR1257 + 12", Nature, 355, 145

::Music::

Music licensed by SoundStripe.com (SS) [shorturl.at/ptBHI], or via Creative Commons (CC) Attribution License (), or with permission from the artist

► "A Fog Slowly Lifting" @ 000 & 2234 (unreleased), "My Unbelief" @ 813 (), "Fragmented" @ 1835 (), "Lost in Wandering" @ 2802 ( & ) are by Hill, with permission by the artist, see&

► "Void" @ 140 and "Trace Correction" @ 3016 are by Indive, licensed under a CC Attribution license

► "The Sun is Scheduled to Come Out Tomorrow" @ 356, "Stories About the World That Once Was" @ 1117, "Cylinder Five" @ 1529 and "Cylinder Six" @ 2648 are by Chris Zabriskie licensed under a CC Attribution license

► "Painted Deserts" @ 24:55 by Shimmer licensed via SS

::Chapters::

Thumbnail by Joe Keller/Daily Paintworks: www.pinterest.com/pin/376121006355076051/

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