Contacting Mars in the Late Nineteenth Century May 25, 2015
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern , trackback
In the nineteenth century humans noted a series of unusual lights from different planets and moons. In the very late nineteenth century some speculated that these lights might be attempts to contact the earth: we have previously looked at an example involving the moon and Charles Fort. This was particularly true with the sighting of lights on Mars, first spotted in France in 1892, and again in 1894. The reaction to these lights was first to try and explain the lights away as natural phenomena; but, then, given that in the previous years a great deal of work had been done on the possibility of life on Mars, Schiapparelli had discovered canals/channels there in 1877, there was also the possibility, it was admitted, that the Martians might be trying to get in touch. The result was a desperate concourse of scientists and nuts trying to work out how earthlings could get back in touch: wouldn’t make much sense to be outdone by mere Martians.
One Professor Dolbear suggested a series of search lights. Others, including one Charles Cros, talked of huge mirrors that would reflect the sun out towards Mars: 45 by 75 feet! One Rev. Haweis suggested turning the gas supply in London on and off to reproduce musical notes that the Martians could then recreate on their hydro-organs: love this. One Mr Lockyer pointed out that if all the world’s navies were brought together in one place they could create a large disc and it would just be a question of synchronizing them in turning their searchlights towards the skies: there’s a novel in that one, particularly when a French destroyer rams a German battleship. Yet another idea was to plant vast geometrical signs with palm trees in the Sahara Desert… Francis Galton in 1896 wrote a long and ambitious article discussing interplanetary communication and suggesting the orbit of planets (a common denominator of say Martians and humans) as the numerical basis for any shared language. In short human ingenuity/eccentricity was not lacking.
What Beach finds most incredible is the lack of fear in contemporary reports. First, there was a wide consensus that Martians might, in fact, exist: a quite sensible position in those years given some of the evidence that had been amassed. Probably never before or since has there been such a confident percentage of the population that believed in contactable alien life, including a fair percentage of scientists: drbeachcombing AT yahoo DOT com. There was a frequently stated belief that if the Martians existed then they were more advanced than humans. Yet, there seems to have been no messages from vicars in the shires saying ‘be careful’. It was only with War of the Worlds in 1897 that someone articulated the fact that Martians may have canine teeth… The nineteenth century was an almost absurdly self-confident age.
25 May 2015: Chris S writes in with some other suggestions.
This article at space.com has a few items unmentioned in your post. Quoted text follows.
The first of these inventors was Carl Friedrich Gauss, the German mathematician. In the 1820s, he spoke of reflecting sunlight towards the planets with his land surveying invention, the heliotrope. He is also credited with the idea of cutting a giant triangle in the Siberian forest and planting wheat inside.
“The size and color contrast should have made the object visible from the moon or Mars, and the geometric figure could only be interpreted as an intentional construction,” Raulin-Cerceau wrote.
Twenty years later, the astronomer Joseph von Littrow came up with a similar idea to pour kerosene into a 30-kilometer-wide circular canal that would be lit at night to signal our presence.
Also, just for your edification. Being 1899, it still counts as 19th century. Quoted text follows.
Tesla elaborated on the subject of “Talking with the Planets” in Collier’s Weekly (March 1901):
“As I was improving my machines for the production of intense electrical actions, I was also perfecting the means for observing feeble effects. One of the most interesting results, and also one of great practical importance, was the development of certain contrivances for indicating at a distance of many hundred miles an approaching storm, its direction, speed and distance traveled.
“It was in carrying on this work that for the first time I discovered those mysterious effects which have elicited such unusual interest. I had perfected the apparatus referred to so far that from my laboratory in the Colorado mountains I could feel the pulse of the globe, as it were, noting every electrical discharge that occurred within a range of 1100 miles.
“I can never forget the first sensations I experienced when it dawned upon me that I had observed something possibly of incalculable consequences to mankind. I felt as though I were present at the birth of a new knowledge or the revelation of a great truth. My first observations positively terrified me, as there was present in them something mysterious, not to say supernatural, and I was alone in my laboratory at night; but at that time the idea of these disturbances being intelligently controlled signal did not yet present itself to me. The changes I noted were taking place periodically and with such a clear suggestion of number and order that they were not traceable to any cause known to me. I was familiar, of course, with such electrical disturbances as are produced by the sun, Aurora Borealis and earth currents, and I was as sure as I could be of any fact that these variations were due to none of these causes. The nature of my experiments precluded the possibility of the changes being produced by atmospheric disturbances, as has been rashly asserted by some. It was sometime afterward when the thought flashed upon my mind that the disturbances I had observed might be due to an intelligent control. Although I could not decipher their meaning, it was impossible for me to think of them as having been entirely accidental. The feeling is constantly growing in me that I had been the first to hear the greeting of one planet to another. A purpose was behind these electrical signals!”
25 May 2015: KMH writes ‘Regarding the self confidence of the Victorians about contacting Mars, this is most likely a psychological projection of their attitude toward any foreigners. The worst experience in the 19th century was the Napoleonic era, which ended early. Since the 20th we have had two world wars and intimations of a potential third with Russia allied to China, plus experience with detestable ideologies such as Nazism and Communism. No wonder our psychological projection is more negative, especially with horror stories of aliens abducting humans, mutilating livestock, and being deeply involved in black projects with governments around the world. We now have much more reason to doubt ourselves in responding to contacts from outer space, and to doubt aliens have altruistic motives in contacting this planet.’
Thanks Chris and KMH!
