LogFAQs > #965955278

Mars is strange.
In the late 1800, astronomers saw canals and seasonal changes on the surface that corresponded with the melting of the polar ice.
In 1888 Perrotin described having observed dramatic changes in a feature, named "Libya" by Schiaparelli, and assumed to be a continental land mass. "Clearly visible two years ago, it no longer exists today," and by 1892, Perrotin had switched his attention to watching for
"bright projections" on Mars, reporting three in the summer of that year.
In 1894 Percival Lowell noted a tawny colored cloud of dust that extended over 300 miles.
The Viking 1 landed on Mars on July 20, 1976, continuous recording data until Nov. 11, 1982, over six years of
recordings.
The Space Telescope Science Institute (STSci) report, MARS: A Cooler, Clearer World, states the fact several times that the Mars surface temperature has changed since Viking landing missions, constantly dropping in temperature.
In 1954 National Geographic sponsored a Mars observation project at Lamount-Hussey Obervator, Bloemfontein, South Africa on Naval Hill an altitude of 4888 feet. From this National Geographic sponsored expedition 20,000 pictures were taken of Mars. The National
Geographic published the article September 1955, pages 427 to 436 written by Dr. E.C. Slipher.
The picture in the National Geographic article reveals the areas mentioned as blue-green seasonal change. These observations were in September 1954, two years before the 1956 planet wide dust storm.
In 1971, Mariner 9's images reveal a barren planet, with no apparent seasonal changes except for the polar caps.
Valley of the Mariners was strangely first discovered by the Mariner 9. It stretches over 4000 km, nearly a quarter of the planet's circumference.