Tag: Mars

Weird Science, stories, and cartoons concerning Mars, Martians and our attempts to communicate with the red planet

The Trip to Mars, by Ella Wheeler Wilcox 

On: By: Romeyn

THE TRIP TO MARS

by Ella Wheeler Wilcox (November 5, 1850 – October 30, 1919)

 

Oh! by and by we shall hear the cry.
“This is the way to Mars.”
Come take a trip, on the morning Ship;
It sails by the Isle of Stars.

“A glorious view of planets new
We promise by night and day.
Past dying suns our good ship runs,
And we pause at the Milky Way.”

I am almost sure we will take that tour
Together, my dear, my dear.
For, ever have we, by land and sea,
Gone journeying far and near.

Out over the deep–o’er mountain steep,
We have traveled mile on mile;
And to sail away to the Martian Bay,
Oh! that were a trip worth while.

Our ship will race through seas of space
Up into the Realms of Light,
Till the whirling ball of the earth grows small,
And is utterly lost to sight.

Through the nebulous spawn where planets are born
We shall pass with sails well furled,
And with eager eyes we will scan the skies,
For the sights of a new-made world.

From the derelict barque of a sun gone dark,
Adrift on our fair ship’s path,
A beacon star shall guide us afar,
And far from the comet’s wrath.

Oh! many a start of pulse and heart
We have felt at the sights of land.
But what would we do if the dream came true,
And we sighted the Martian strand?

So, if some day you come and say,
“They are sailing to Mars, I hear.”
I want you to know, I am ready to go,–
All ready, my dear, my dear.

World Voices by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
New York : Hearst’s International Library Company, 1916.

Martians, 100 Years Ago

On: By: Romeyn

Will Earth and Mars Signal to Each Other April 27th?

The near approach of Mars to Earth and the announcement some time ago of Prof. Hubert II. Goddard. of Clark College, that he intended to shoot a rocket to Mars, have awakened interest In the planet again. Wireless experts have received mysterious messages, which some have suggested came from Mars.

“This picture shows a Martian as Scientists who believe there is life on the planet he would appear. He is about nine times the height of man with a huge chest to breathe rarified air of the planet, weak eyes and probably mechanical aid to hearing or wireless more of ordinary communication.” Continue reading “Martians, 100 Years Ago” →

Big Flood on Mars

On: By: Romeyn

 

Special Correspondence to The Press
WASHINGTON, July 2.—Now as never before astronomers at the government observatory can see the wonders of Mars. Starting the first of July, the flood period on the planet begins, and the men at the telescope actually can see the
water as It rushes down one whole side of Mars through the planet’s wonderful canals.

Mars Is getting as close to the earth as it will be in many years. In the pictures the dark area shows the watered parts of the planet. In December the snow cap is large and most of the crop space is waste land. In July, when the sun’s heat melts masses of ice and snow, the water irrigates the whole land through the monster canals the Martians built.

By September the water has largely disappeared from the surface.

Note the great curve the dark or watered section takes in June and July. The melted snow forms small oceans, probably the size of several American states.

Just now, the astronomers assert, the green reflection from the growing crops of the Martians plainly is to be seen through the telescope, though 35,000,000 miles away. They are filled with wonder at the sight, and regret that they cannot talk to Mars.

The Spokane Press. Spokane, WA. July 02, 1909