2 0 0 9 P a r i s / M
e u d o n
IWCMO Conference
Talk presented at the IWCMO conference,
K Maria D LANE痴 talk, given on the occasion of the IWCMO 2009, depended
on the Second Chapter of her forthcoming book entitled
Geographies of Mars: Seeing and Knowing the Red Planet whose Table
of Contents is shown at the bottom of this page. Here are shown the
Presentation Notes and Slide List of the talk. As to the Power Point file used
by her on the day, see the following PDF:
Click here 
Scholarship to Date
ｷ As we know
from works by Bill and others, from about 1890 to 1910, the planet Mars was
seriously thought in Europe and
ｷ [2] A key element in this
widespread belief was the fact that astronomers reported seeing geometrical
lines in the Martian landscape.
ｷ These lines
were interpreted by many as evidence of a technological society on Mars.
ｷ Now,
looking back, we wonder how they ever came to this conclusion.
ｷ Historians
of science have analyzed the most influential astronomers involved.
ｷ Have looked
at how their personalities, philosophical beliefs, and social networks helped
them convince large audiences that Mars was inhabited.
ｷ These
analyses look mainly at the influence of religion, the theory of evolution, and
the culture of science popularization.
New Approach
ｷ But I would
like to look at this fascinating topic from a different angle to more fully
explain how the idea of an inhabited Mars became so popular [3]
ｷ I argue
that much of the power of astronomers
claims actually came from the format in which they were most
often presented the map
ｷ Talk Outline [4]
o
I will first briefly note some transitions in
the way Mars maps were made;
o
Then will examine the 1877-1878 mapping
controversy, including the debate over Martian place names;
o
Will offer an analysis of how the map痴 authority contributed to beliefs that Mars
was inhabited.
o
And will finally offer a cartographic
explanation for the post-1909 reduction in belief in life on Mars
MAPS OF MARS
The first
maps of Mars were really just abstract sketches
ｷ Telescope
had made it possible to observe Martian surface, [5]
ｷ But no
certainty as to whether features were permanent or just clouds
ｷ Observers
sketched what they saw, but used convention of showing only a single view from
an exact time [6]
ｷ This form
of mapping or sketching acknowledged that different viewers might see different
things, even at the same time
By 1840,
certainty had improved [7]
ｷ this
allowed proper mapping to occur: individual views could be compiled and charted
ｷ expectation
was that everyone would see the same things time after time
ｷ 1840 base
map established by Beer and M臈ler
ｷ throughout
1860s/1870s, details were added in similar format
Popular
interests developed around these maps, which used one of two forms [8]
ｷ Mercator very well known as
a navigation map, although significant polar distortion
ｷ Stereoscopic map [9]
o
mimicked the shape of sketches and relied on
their perceived accuracy and authenticity
o
also drew on excitement for new visual
technologies
Placenames also drew interests: [10]
ｷ went from
having only letters (1840) to using surnames, which was typical naming
convention during the age of exploration
The Maps of 1877
ｷ After the
1877 perihelic opposition, 2 important maps were made
[11]
ｷ You are all
undoubtedly familiar with these maps, but let痴 look at them in terms of how they were 廃roduced and 把onsumed, as we say in the history of
cartography
world
ｷ Production Green [12]
o
Nathaniel Green, English amateur astronomer,
left his home in
o
For 2 months, he observed Mars under good
conditions [13]
o
Created 41 color
sketches, each took about 2 hours to prepare
o
Then came home and incorporated his own
observations with many others that had been done previously
o
Produced the most detailed map yet known for
Mars
ｷ Production Schiaparelli [14]
o
Giovanni Schiaparelli, professional Milanese
astronomer, observed Mars extensively from his observatory in northern
o
Watched Mars during the weeks around the
opposition but then continued watching Mars for 7 months after opposition [15]
o
Made 31 complete drawings of Mars and 100+
detailed sketches of various region
o
Tidied pencil sketches into composites, sent
them to colleagues for comment
o
But when he made his map, it was based only on
his own observations
ｷ How the maps compare
o
Similarities
[16]
ｧ Both very
detailed
ｧ used mercator projection, included azimuthal
projection for polar regions
o
But despite
similarities, they were irreconcilably different
ｧ Style of
illustration very different: Green used subtle naturalistic shading;
Schiaparelli used definitive lines, hard-edged features, artificial colors
ｧ Placenames very
different:[17]
ｷ Green
followed surname convention, added many new names
ｷ Schiaparelli
rejected this in favor of geographical names drawn
from classical mythology based on the Mediterranean world
ｧ Different
in depiction of linear features
ｷ Schiaparelli痴 had numerous features that were nowhere to be
seen in Green痴 map the canals
ｷ Straight
lines dominated his map, had never appeared on previous maps
o
The two astronomers themselves were at pains
NOT to disrespect one another, but it was obvious that the two maps could not
BOTH be correct
o
Both claimed to have been perfectly objective
and to have made accurate maps
o
Green said it was a matter of artistic
representation
o
But Schiaparelli thought it was a matter of
having seen more detail
ｷ Consumption
o
So how did the viewers of these two maps
react? [18]
o
Verdict: Schiaparelli痴 map definitely won over both scientific
and popular audiences
o
How do we
know this?
o
Although there was a lot of controversy and
even skepticism about Schiaparelli痴 canals, everyone started looking for
them!
o
For almost a decade, no one saw canals, but
everyone kept looking
o
after confirmation in 1886, canal sightings
became increasingly common
o
This tells us that there was something very
convincing about Schiaparelli痴 map
o
For decades, most Mars maps used Schiaparelli痴 nomenclature and artistic style
ｷ Why did Schiaparelli痴
map have so much authority?
o
Partly because he was a professional (versus
Green痴 status as an amateur), but this
doesn稚 explain everything Green was well respected as an observer
o
More important: visual authority of his map
o
This map was so authoritatively drawn that its
claims were almost indisputable
ｧ Used dark
lines
ｧ With sharp
edges
ｧ Chose
definitive colors,
ｧ Applied
specific geographic labels
ｷ If we look at this in the context of
cartography at the time,
o
it is clear that a less definitive map could
simply never be more authoritative than a more detailed map
o
cartographers were in the business of adding
detail to maps, of showing geography with certainty
o
in the exploration of
o
you had to add information to protect your
status as a respected explorer
ｷ So if you look at these maps side by side [19]
o
it seems that one of them was simply more
certain of what he saw
o
this is the effect of visual authority
ｷ This does NOT mean that Schiaparelli痴
map was undisputed
o
He was criticized both for his artistic style
and for his placenames
o
The arguments over placenames
were especially heated and lasted a long time
o
British astronomers, especially, were unhappy
with the way Schiaparelli had taken many British names off the map and replaced
them with names prioritizing a different part of the world
o
This became a fairly nationalistic kind of
competition [20]
o
But Schiaparelli maintained the upper hand in
these controversies, mainly because he could claim to have discovered something
that no one else had seen on Mars
o
No one could dispute that new features needed
new placenames, even if they disagreed with the
revision of existing names
o
So scientists competed over the
ｷ Schiaparelli痴 influence on mapmaking very clear
o
For rest of 1880s and 1890s, astronomers
competed to map/name canals [21].
o
British astronomers were not able to reclaim
the map
o
Schiaparelli痴 1877 map became
standard
ｷ Maps very authoritative with scientific and
general audiences
o
Many have attributed
belief in Martian life to mistranslation of canale
o
I argue it was the
IMAGE, not the WORD, that was so convincing
Maps and the
Inhabited Mars Hypothesis
The
new style of mapping set the stage for belief that Mars was inhabited: [22]
ｷ
There continued to be doubters, who thought
the canals were optical illusions
ｷ
And there were others who accepted the canal
observations as real but thought there were caused by some natural effect
(probably geological)
ｷ
But the most common interpretation of the new
maps was that they provided evidence of intelligent life
ｷ As you
certainly know, in the years after Schiaparelli, American astronomer Percival
Lowell put forth a very influential hypothesis, as follows [23]:
o
Mars was a desert planet, with its polar caps
the only source of water
o
The intelligent Martians had created canals
thousands of miles long to capture and control seasonal snowmelt
o
These canals produced strips of vegetation on
their banks and circular vegetative oases at their intersections, creating the
patterns visible from Earth
ｷ He built
this hypothesis through cartography
ｷ It was the
very 殿rtificialness of the map痴
appearance that proved the existence of intelligent life, he
argued
ｷ There was
simply no way for natural forces to produce such a geometric appearance on a
planet痴 surface, he argued
ｷ I said
ｷ Remember,
he opened the Lowell Observatory in 1894 specifically to observe Mars, and in
his first season of observations, he added 116 new canals to the map [24]
ｷ Because he
established a reputation as an excellent cartographer of Mars, he also
generated some legitimacy that extended to his interpretations of Mars
ｷ Even his
opponents had to admit that he had the best maps
Canals and
Cartographic Icon
ｷ By early
1900s, Lowellian images of Mars had become powerful
icons
ｷ Popular
Sunday papers frequently published geometric images of Mars [25]
ｷ Lecturers
prepared lantern slides showing canal maps
ｷ Books about
Mars used the canal-map to augment their arguments that Mars was inhabited
ｷ The map
made it easy to compare natural and artificial landforms [26]
ｷ The map was
key to understanding the canal network, and the canal network was key to
understanding Martian civilization
Creative Power of the Map
ｷ
It is very important to note that the
appearance of the network as a whole was much more important than any of
the individual details in this regard.
ｷ
It wouldn稚 have been remarkable if Mars happened to have a
linear marking or two; but the fact that it was covered in canals is
what made it startling.
ｷ
As we consider this fact, it is somewhat
ironic to note that the Martian landscape inscribed in the map was quite
different from that which astronomers reported seeing through their telescopes
ｷ
In fact, no astronomer ever actually saw or
claimed to see an interlinked canal network while sitting at the telescope.
ｷ
Mars was notoriously difficult to see, even
with a good telescope.
ｷ
As a result, very few of the sketches that
astronomers drew in their observation logbooks or on standardized sketchpads
depicted more than a few Martian surface details at any given time [27].
ｷ
It was only through the process of gathering,
compiling, and cartographically projecting dozens or even hundreds of sketches
onto a comprehensive map that the canal network came into being.
ｷ
ｷ
Thus, very simple sketches blossomed
cartographically into complex and interlinked networks that had never been seen
by any single individual or on any single night.
ｷ
So, the networked appearance of the canals
owed its existence more to the cartographic process than to any reality on the
Martian surface.
Maps and the Decline of the Martian Canals
So
far I have argued [29]
ｷ
that Mars maps established the initial
authority of the inhabited-Mars hypothesis,
ｷ
that map-related controversies spurred
increasing interest in the red planet, and
ｷ
that the iconic image that was ever-present
during the popular mania over Mars was purely an artifact
of cartographic projection
ｷ
Now, to fully appreciate the power of the map,
we also need to examine the role cartography played in the decline of
belief in life on Mars
Remember, the
concept of the canals had always been challenged
ｷ Schiaparelli痴 artistic skills were criticized at the outset
ｷ Many
astronomers were never able to view the canals, even with large telescopes
ｷ Even those
who admitted seeing the lines often rejected
ｷ Not until
1909 did such challenges begin to have an impact
Photography Supplants Photography
ｷ To briefly
explain what happened,
ｷ
ｷ He quickly
circulated these, dismissing claims of optical illusion by noting that
photography was perfectly objective, that 鍍he photographic plate cannot lie
ｷ But his
critics persisted, and he sent a very high-profile expedition to
ｷ This
expedition was hyped in the popular press, and the photographs were anxiously
awaited
ｷ Unfortunately
for
ｷ they were
grainy, tiny, dark, and difficult to reproduce [32]
ｷ and
importantly, they showed only about as much detail as could be found in the
average sketch nowhere near the amount of detail shown on one of Lowell痴 maps
ｷ
In
the process, he actually undermined the power of his maps
ｷ
by emphasizing that the photographs were
perfectly objective and free from imagination, he implied that the maps were
subjective
ｷ After 1909,
as a result, photography essentially replaced cartography as the scientific
imagery of Mars astronomy
ｷ Book
editors and encyclopedia compilers began to prefer
the objective photographs in place of the disputed maps, and the maps quickly
disappeared from popular publications
ｷ Result:
ｷ Since his
authority was built through cartography, this weakened his hypothesis
significantly
ｷ And because
the photos did not show the full canal network, audiences confidence in the supposed Martian inhabitants began
to die away
Antoniadi put the nail in the coffin
ｷ When Antoniadi observed Mars in 1909 here at Meudon, he did not
see canals [33]
ｷ He claimed
to see in their place an intricate mess of detail that was almost impossible to
sketch or represent accurately
ｷ With
canal-maps on the wane, however, Antoniadi was in
luck
ｷ His
drawings looked like the latest photographs!
ｷ I argue
that if Antoniadi had submitted a map like this in
1903, he would not have trumped
ｷ After those
maps had been weakened, however, the detailed artistic representation available
through sketching became legitimate once again
ｷ Confirmed
by photography, Antoniadi痴 sketches were very powerful
Conclusion
ｷ In
conclusion, cartography played a fundamental role in setting research
priorities, spurring popular interest, and influencing the rise and fall of the
inhabited-Mars hypothesis. [34]
ｷ The same is
arguably still true today, with the well-known Mars Pathfinder, Mars Express,
and Mars Rover missions developed primarily around strategies of cartographic
imaging
ｷ Scholarship
that ignores the role of the map in astronomical research thus misses a big
part of the story.
ｷ Draft
copies of this chapter available by emailing mdlane@unm.edu [35]
We hear
List
of Figures v
Acknowledgements ix
Chapter 1.
Understanding Mars:
Sensation,
Science and Geography 1
Analogy and the Seeds of
Sensation 5
The Popularization of
Martian Geography 10
Understanding Martian
Geography 17
Mars and the Geography of
Science 19
Mars and the Science of
Geography 24
The Rest of the Volume 27
Chapter 2.
Representing Scientific Data:
Cartographic Inscription
and Visual Authority 31
The Maps of 1877-1878 37
Battling for
Projecting Authority 52
Photography and the Decline
of the Martian Map 60
A Scientific End for the
Canals 67
Conclusions 73
Chapter 3.
Representing Scientific Sites:
Vision and Fieldwork at the
Mountain Observatories 75
The New Geography of
Astronomy 77
Astronomy and the American
West 82
A Pure View of Mars from the
Mountains 91
The Wilderness Challenge 99
Science, Legitimacy and
Landscape 107
Conclusions 112
Chapter 4.
Representing Scientists:
Heroism, Adventure and the
Geographical Outlook 114
Gazing on the Martian
Landscape 118
Method, Movement, and
Identity 123
The New Heroes: William
Pickering in
The New Travelers:
David Todd in
The New Explorers: Wallace
Campbell on
Conclusions 162
Chapter 5.
Placing the Red Planet:
Meanings in the
Martian Landscape 167
Wallace and Lowell: Two
Public Intellectuals 170
Physical Geography: A 天ast
Landscape Change: The March
of Martian Desertism 183
Cultural Geography: Social
Darwinism 192
and Martian Determinism
Human-Environment
Interaction: Irrigated Mars 208
Conclusions 220
Chapter 6.
Toward a Cultural Geography
of Mars:
Imaginative
Geography and the
Imaginative Geography 223
Superior Martians and the
Reverse Gaze 232
Signaling and Subjectivity 235
Perspectives from Imperial
Perspectives from
Exceptional
Conclusions 253
Bibliography 258
Primary Sources: Archival
Collections 258
Primary Sources: Published
Works 259
Secondary Sources 287
Department of Geography,