In the book " Journey to the Earth's Interior," ( 1913 ) Marshall B.
Gardner
gathers together testimony relating to the sightings of a gleam or
glint of
light emanating from the North Polar area of Mars, which was observed
by the
astronomers Lowell, Mitchell and Green, all during different years
and and
from different locations. There is also evidence of a round, bubble-
like
white irradiation photographed by the Yerkes Observatory. On a thumb-
nail
sized picture of Mars ( not reproduceable here ) , this bubble-like
irradiation sits like a pin head on the pole. Gardner makes a strong
case in
favor of the hypothesis that the light originates from the interior
of Mars,
from the planet's inner sun.
Below are the pertinent sections of Gardner's book for
reference. The reader should realize that, although this information
is
older, it is especially reliable as there was little censurship in
those
times. For example, Percivell Lowell, who was one source of
information, was
independently wealthy, a Boston brahmin, and had to offer
explanations to no
man.
Professor Lowell records:
" Meanwhile an interesting phenomenon occured in the cap on June 7 (
this
was in 1894 ). On that morning at about a quarter to six (or, more
precisely, on June 8, 1 hour, 17 minutes, G. M. T.), as I was
watching the
planet, I saw suddenly two points like stars flash out in the midst
of the
polar cap. Dazzlingly bright upon the duller white background of the
snow,
these stars shone for a few moments and then slowly disappeared. The
seeing
at the time was very good." Of interest is the fact that professor
Lowell
points out two separate, star-point flashes, lasting but moments.
Gardner from page 83: " In this same part of his book, " Mars ",
Lowell
speaks of a fellow observer, Mr. Douglass, who detected " rifts " in
the
cap-- which sounds suspiciously as if this observer has seen clouds
in the
interior of the planet passing across the face of the polar opening.
And
Lowell adds, ' On June 13 I noticed that behind the bright points the
snow
he calls it ) fell off shaded to this rift ' which again sounds as if
clouds were gathering near the bright spots. He continues:
' Bright spots continued to be seen at various points to the westward
round
the cap ... Throughout these days the cap was wont to appear shaded
on the
terminator side.' The last sentence surely suggests that cloud
formations
were coming into the field of view and that wherever they thinned the
bright
spots from the central sun could be seen between them."
The reader will notice the image above of the floor of the depression
which
sits at the North Pole of Mars. There is definitely a crater-like
depression, but it does not seem to funnel directly into any openings
which
lead to the hollow cavity of the planet. However, Lowell's testimony
stressed that two separate glints of light were seen, and the floor
of the
depression does show two rather large crevices. Could it be that the
flash
points of light reported by the astronomers above are glimpses of the
inner
sun shining through these crevices?
Joseph H. Cater wrote the author in a personal letter that " With no
large
openings, Mars has to have a relatively thin shell." The interior sun
of
other planets, such as the Earth, can ventilate through these
openings. When
soft particles build up within the Earth's inner cavity due to sunspot
activity, such particles spurt out with such force that the soft
particles
disintegrate into their constituent light in the process and form the
aurora. Since the thin shell of Mars allows low frequency particles to
radiate back outward, significant polar openings are not necessary.
Posted by Dean