Summer 1892 "lights" on Mars?

[jfinc]

Back in the olden days when canals were still seen on Mars, Professor Holden of Lick observatory observed in the summer of 1892, when Mars was near opposition, three prominent spots, or points of light, in triangle of tolerably regular shape. It made quite an impression at the time with some thinking it due to Martians signalling Earth.

I can't find any paper listing the original event by the observers although I could find a reference that Professor W.W.Campbell determined it to likely be mountain peaks that were greater then 2 miles high which would be prominently illuminated even though the surrounding landscape would be dark.

Does anyone have a good link or site with this kind of Lick observatory data?

Has anyone ever confirmed the likely explanation with more recent Mars data?

[ngc3314]

Back in the olden days when canals were still seen on Mars, Professor Holden of Lick observatory observed in the summer of 1892, when Mars was near opposition, three prominent spots, or points of light, in triangle of tolerably regular shape. It made quite an impression at the time with some thinking it due to Martians signalling Earth.

I can't find any paper listing the original event by the observers although I could find a reference that Professor W.W.Campbell determined it to likely be mountain peaks that were greater then 2 miles high which would be prominently illuminated even though the surrounding landscape would be dark.

Does anyone have a good link or site with this kind of Lick observatory data?

Has anyone ever confirmed the likely explanation with more recent Mars data?

This was further discussed by Holden in PASP 6, p. 285 (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1894PASP....6..285H&db_key=AST&d ata_type=HTML&format=&high=42de6f00eb18193) (1894). He says in no uncertain terms that the effect was consistent with relief of 10,000 feet or less near the terminator. For example "To anyone who has actually observed the phenomenon in question, night after night, as has been done by all of us at Mount Hamilton, the suggestion that these prominences are signal lights from (possible) inhabitants of Mars is simply preposterous. I can find no milder term". Not for astronomers of that era caveats about statistical significance or room for interpretation... Holden faults the writer of an articler in Nature for introducing an element of mystery into the observations.


(Kilopost, if I've tracked recent numbers correctly).

[jfinc]

Thanks for the response. That is a good report server link!

[snabald]

So what could it have been? Clouds? Ice?

[aurora]

I seem to remember an article about this, a year or three ago. Perhaps in Sky & Telescope?

Seems like I recall the article had an explanation for the reflection, but I do not recall what it was.

Perhaps a search?

[ngc3314]

I seem to remember an article about this, a year or three ago. Perhaps in Sky & Telescope?

Seems like I recall the article had an explanation for the reflection, but I do not recall what it was.

Perhaps a search?

The recent attention was to some brief flashes near the equator (I seem to recall not too far from Meridiani Planum), attributed to specular reflection of sunlight from possible surface ice. The observation was replicated when illumination conditions were most nearly like those of a decades-old report (more evidence that one cannot idly dismiss all strange eyeball reports, however many turn out to be nonrepeatable...)

[parallaxicality]

There was a thread on this a while back. It concerned War of the Worlds:

http://www.bautforum.com/showthread.php?t=16151&highlight=perrotin

[ryanmercer]

It was probably when John Carter was leading one of his many attacks with his large navies. *nods* heh