martian geography, astronomy, history, maps, mars, space

Mars in the Nineteenth Century

Using telescopes, astronomers have been mapping the surface of Mars in surprising detail for over 100 years. This map of the entire Martian globe, showing everything from Mare Australe to Mare Boreum, was made in 1890. Now you can check a satellite photo to see how accurate it really was.

Here's a recent satellite photo of the same area of Mars, taken by NASA in 1998.

And here's another, more colorful depiction of the same area, created in the late 1870s.

Channelling Martian Maps [BilbliOdyssey]

7:00 AM on Wed Apr 16 2008
By Annalee Newitz
1,927 views
12 comments

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Miranda Kali at 07:32 AM on 04/16/08
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That map is awesome! I'd love to hang a large version on my wall. Preferably with one of WETA's "Man Melter"s displayed next to it. (as if I had that kind of cash to blow)
alcyone at 07:37 AM on 04/16/08
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The first map does not show only the area near Mare Australe, it's a map of the entire martian globe from 90° South up to 60° North. And it's a mercator projection, which means that the polar regions are distorted. Additionally N and S are flipped because that's the way it looked like in an old reflector telescope.

You can't compare that map with a face-on view of mars' south pole. You should compare it with an upside down version of this image: [cache.eb.com] .
92BuickLeSabre at 07:38 AM on 04/16/08
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In any medium, Mars is beautiful.
Annalee Newitz at 08:21 AM on 04/16/08
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@Miranda Kali: I have a mini Man Melter on my bookshelf!
Annalee Newitz at 08:21 AM on 04/16/08
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@alcyone: Awesome, thanks!
Gyrus at 08:32 AM on 04/16/08
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Of all the kooky ideas from old timey sci-fi, I think it's the idea of what people wanted Mars to be like that really impresses me. Such detailed imagination is just really impressive. I'd love a book that was written as a field guide or natural history of Mars circa 1900 that compiled all this great stuff into one place.
Miranda Kali at 08:38 AM on 04/16/08
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@Annalee Newitz: Lucky goose!
Dillenger69 at 10:54 AM on 04/16/08
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Has anyone explained why Mars went from a planet full of canals and straight lines to what we see today? Did they just not have it in focus when they were drawing the old maps?
Grey_Area at 11:08 AM on 04/16/08
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@Dillenger69: The usual explanation is that astronomers were unconsciously playing connect-the-dots with dark features seen on the Martian surface. It's just part of the way our brains are wired to fill in gaps and create patterns where none exist. For example, every human culture I've ever read about has a system of constellations-- connect-the-dots again.
I wonder if there's a species Out There that says, "Yeah, it's that 3rd magnitude blue white star between those two red giants 14 degrees below the bright yellow one. What? No, they don't look like a puppy. What are you, high?"
Grey_Area at 12:00 PM on 04/16/08
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@Annalee Newitz: Is the Mini Man Melter available on WEKA's site and does it melt anything besides tiny people?
Annalee Newitz at 01:22 PM on 04/16/08
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@Grey_Area: Not sure about on the site. It was a limited-edition thing from last year's Comic-Con. So far it has yet to melt anything, mini or otherwise! Still, it looks pretty.
Grey_Area at 02:38 PM on 04/16/08
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@Annalee Newitz: Phooey, they're sold out. I'd love one of the full scale models some day. (sigh) Hmm...I guess Mom doesn't *really* need that operation...