THE WANDERING ASTRONOMER Monday, October 30, 2023 A Martian Terro [ANNOUNCER TWO: Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt our program of dance music to bring you a special bulletin from the Intercontinental Radio News. At twenty minutes before eight, central time, Professor Farrell of the Mount Jennings Observatory, Chicago, Illinois, reports observing several explosions of incandescent gas, occurring at regular intervals on the planet Mars. The spectroscope indicates the gas to be hydrogen and moving towards the earth with enormous velocity. Professor Pierson of the Observatory at Princeton confirms Farrell's observation, and describes the phenomenon as (quote) like a jet of blue flame shot from a gun (unquote). We now return you to the music of Ramón Raquello, playing for you in the Meridian Room of the Park Plaza Hotel, situated in downtown New York] And, so it began...a now infamous radio broadcast presented on October 30, 1938. The then scarcely known Orson Welles and Mercury Broadcasting on the Air presented an hour long dramatization of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds," a late Victorian novel about a Martian Invasion of Earth. In what some described as an inspired decision, they chose to present the dramatization as a 'news broadcast," reporting details of an alien armada descending onto the world. Between 8:00 - 9:00 p.m. that night in late October, they 'interrupted' a music program with bulletins, including interviews with a renowned astronomer, Professor Pierson. [PHILLIPS: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is Carl Phillips, speaking to you from the observatory at Princeton. I am standing in a large semi-circular room, pitch black except for an oblong split in the ceiling. Through this opening I can see a sprinkling of stars that cast a kind of frosty glow over the intricate mechanism of the huge telescope. The ticking sound you hear is the vibration of the clockwork. Professor Pierson stands directly above me on a small platform, peering through a giant lens. I ask you to be patient, ladies and gentlemen, during any delay that may arise during our interview. Besides his ceaseless watch of the heavens, Professor Pierson may be interrupted by telephone or other communications. During this period he is in constant touch with the astronomical centers of the world . . . Professor, may I begin our questions? PIERSON: At any time, Mr. Phillips. PHILLIPS: Professor, would you please tell our radio audience exactly what you see as you observe the planet Mars through your telescope? PIERSON: Nothing unusual at the moment, Mr. Phillips. A red disk swimming in a blue sea. Transverse stripes across the disk. Quite distinct now because Mars happens to be the point nearest the earth . . . in opposition, as we call it. PHILLIPS: In your opinion, what do these transverse stripes signify, Professor Pierson? PIERSON: Not canals, I can assure you, Mr. Phillips, although that's the popular conjecture of those who imagine Mars to be inhabited. From a scientific viewpoint the stripes are merely the result of atmospheric conditions peculiar to the planet. PHILLIPS: Then you're quite convinced as a scientist that living intelligence as we know it does not exist on Mars? PIERSON: I'd say the chances against it are a thousand to one. PHILLIPS: And yet how do you account for those gas eruptions occurring on the surface of the planet at regular intervals? PIERSON: Mr. Phillips, I cannot account for it. PHILLIPS: By the way, Professor, for the benefit of our listeners, how far is Mars from earth? PIERSON: Approximately forty million miles. PHILLIPS: Well, that seems a safe enough distance. (OFF MIKE) Thank you. ] Of course, these faint assurances did little to allay the presenters' fears that the recently spotted Martian eruptions were merely natural and did not result from more sinister forces. When reports came in that a mysterious object, certainly extraterrestrial, but definitely not meteoritic, had landed in New Jersey following a strange Earthquake that they had earlier reported. [PHILLIPS: About thirty yards . . . The metal on the sheath is . . . well, I've never seen anything like it. The color is sort of yellowish-white. Curious spectators now are pressing close to the object in spite of the efforts of the police to keep them back. They're getting in front of my line of vision. Would you mind standing to one side, please?][ They reported noises and even lights emitted from what appeared to be a cylinder resting in a cylinder half buried in its own impact crater. The alien object aroused much curiosity and, despite the authorities' ardent efforts to impose a safe barrier around it, crowds gathered. Then.... [PHILLIPS: Just a minute! Something's happening! Ladies and gentlemen, this is terrific! This end of the thing is beginning to flake off! The top is beginning to rotate like a screw! The thing must be hollow! VOICES: She's movin'! Look, the darn thing's unscrewing! Keep back, there! Keep back, I tell you! Maybe there's men in it trying to escape! It's red hot, they'll burn to a cinder! Keep back there. Keep those idiots back! (SUDDENLY THE CLANKING SOUND OF A HUGE PIECE OF FALLING METAL) VOICES: She's off! The top's loose! Look out there! Stand back! ] Despite the terror the sight of the unscrewing capsule aroused, the nearby people remained transfixed, awe-inspired by what they finally realized was a spacecraft, still glowing red-hot from the frictional atmospheric heating. As frightening as the sight of the detaching metal cap proved to be, the horror had just begun. PHILLIPS: A humped shape is rising out of the pit. I can make out a small beam of light against a mirror. What's that? There's a jet of flame springing from the mirror, and it leaps right at the advancing men. It strikes them head on! Good Lord, they're turning into flames! (SCREAMS AND UNEARTHLY SHRIEKS) PHILLIPS: Now the whole field's caught fire. (EXPLOSION) The woods . . . the barns . . . the gas tanks of automobiles . . . it's spreading everywhere. It's coming this way. About twenty yards to my right . . . ] Those would be the last words Mr. Phillips spoke...as he would meet his end in a conflagration that killed dozens of others, including state troopers around Grover's Mills, NJ. Professor Pierson survived and established an emergency outpost from which he would report that an alien race had landed on Earth. They obviously had lethal intentions and, worse, weaponry far in advance of our own. Though somewhat gelatinous, the Martians enclosed themselves in building high tripods capable of marching across the landscape in block-wide strides and destroying all those in their wake. As ghastly as all this news was, it was about to worsen [ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, I have a grave announcement to make. Incredible as it may seem, both the observations of science and the evidence of our eyes lead to the inescapable assumption that those strange beings who landed in the Jersey farmlands tonight are the vanguard of an invading army from the planet Mars. The battle which took place tonight at Grovers Mill has ended in one of the most startling defeats ever suffered by any army in modern times; seven thousand men armed with rifles and machine guns pitted against a single fighting machine of the invaders from Mars. One hundred and twenty known survivors. The rest strewn over the battle area from Grovers Mill to Plainsboro, crushed and trampled to death under the metal feet of the monster, or burned to cinders by its heat ray Humanity was under direct and unprovoked attack by a race whose technological innovations were far superior to our own. Whereas these creatures could traverse the space separating planets, Earthlings had only recently discovered flight and, according to experts, were at least one to two centuries from reaching the Moon. From all accounts, humans were at the mercy of the Martians: an aggressive species hellbent on our subjugation. The Secretary of the Interior came on the air to try to prevent panic: SECRETARY: Citizens of the nation: I shall not try to conceal the gravity of the situation that confronts the country, nor the concern of your government in protecting the lives and property of its people. However, I wish to impress upon you -- private citizens and public officials, all of you -- the urgent need of calm and resourceful action. Fortunately, this formidable enemy is still confined to a comparatively small area, and we may place our faith in the military forces to keep them there. In the meantime placing our faith in God we must continue the performance of our duties each and every one of us, so that we may confront this destructive adversary with a nation united, courageous, and consecrated to the preservation of human supremacy on this earth. I thank you. ] And, then, another cylinder was discovered...and then another...pods similar to the first one from which the first Martian assassins emerged. Now fully aware of the danger inherent within, people strayed far away from these alien space vessels. The Army, still staggering from their recent defeat, engaged the emerging tripods with a furious barrage. [OFFICER: Range, thirty-two meters. GUNNER: Thirty-two meters. OFFICER: Projection, thirty-nine degrees. GUNNER: Thirty-nine degrees. OFFICER: Fire! (BOOM OF HEAVY GUN . . . PAUSE) OBSERVER: One hundred and forty yards to the right, sir. OFFICER: Shift range . . . thirty-one meters. GUNNER: Thirty-one meters OFFICER: Projection . . . thirty-seven degrees. GUNNER: Thirty-seven degrees. OFFICER: Fire! (BOOM OF HEAVY GUN . . . PAUSE) OBSERVER: A hit, sir! We got the tripod of one of them. They've stopped. The others are trying to repair it. ] This unlikely success against a single tripod would be noteworthy for its singularity. The Martians reacted to this sole defeat with swift actions and horrific violence. The tripods arose from the cylinders around the New York/New Jersey region. What was once a smattering of Martians expanded into a full fledged military force that had laid siege to New York City, itself, as the remains of New Jersey smoldered... [OPERATOR THREE: This is Newark, New Jersey . . . This is Newark, New Jersey . . . Warning! Poisonous black smoke pouring in from Jersey marshes. Reaches South street. Gas masks useless. Urge population to move into open spaces . . .automobiles use Routes 7, 23, 24 . . . Avoid congested areas. Smoke now spreading over Raymond Boulevard . . . OPERATOR FOUR: 2X2L . . . calling CQ . . . 2X2L . . . calling CQ . . . 2X2L . . . calling 8X3R . . . Come in, please . . . OPERATOR FIVE: This is 8X3R . . . coming back at 2X2L. OPERATOR FOUR: How's reception? How's reception? K, please (PAUSE) Where are you, 8X3R? What's the matter? Where are you?] Boat whistles blared over streets that were suddenly jammed with suffocatingly dense throngs of horrified citizens watching as ray-firing tripods laid waste to the Manhattan skyline. Desperate people raised white flags above their heads, surrendering to Martians that were indifferent to their gestures and incinerated them with ruthless efficiency. A traumatized announcer related the scene [ANNOUNCER....black smoke, drifting over the city. People in the streets see it now. They're running towards the East River . . . thousands of them, dropping in like rats. Now the smoke's spreading faster. It's reached Times Square. People trying to run away from it, but it's no use. They're falling like flies. Now the smoke's crossing Sixth Avenue . . . Fifth Avenue . . . one hundred yards away . . . it's fifty feet . . ]. Mayhem ensued as skyscrapers toppled onto the corpse piles accumulating before the Martians. The few survivors of the nation's decimated army fled with the others...no longer humans, but animals fleeing desperately from what realized to be an extermination, not an invasion. [PIERSON: As I set down these notes on paper, I'm obsessed by the thought that I may be the last living man on earth..] Astronomer Pierson was not the last survivor, of course. He interacted with a few others who remained after the rapid Martian. They lamented the loss of civilization, and spoke of the desperate times that were ahead as the Earthlings sought to rebuild the world they had lost in literally one night. All quite poignant and it sounded horrifyingly realistic. Many listeners who tuned into the broadcast AFTER the initial disclaimer assuring people that it was merely a drama, mistook it for an actual news story. While later reports of widespread panic were exaggerations, many did believe Martians were attacking and they responded accordingly. They armed themselves against the assault and prepared to defend their homes. We must recall, of course, that it was 1938 and the rapid rise of Nazi Germany had already induced a disquiet even here in America. Although the public reaction on October 30th was overstated, the Columbia Broadcasting Station did weather quite a backlash during the subsequent few days. Anger mounted at what many assumed was a particularly distasteful and potentially dangerous hoax. Stunned by the controversy, CBS officials assured the public that there would be no recurrence of such a program and the anger soon abated. Of course, the incident and its attendant embellishments became part of American lore. The 1938 Mercury theatre program also elevated Orson Welles to a position of great cultural stature. Yet, perhaps even more fascinating is the astronomical genesis of this entire story in particular and in our dread at the sight of Mars in general. We begin with observations of Mars recorded by Italian astronomer Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli (1835- 1910). During the Great Opposition* of 1877. Mars was close, and therefore comparatively bright and large during this opposition. Through his telescope, Schiaparelli observed a network of criss-crossing channels that he termed 'canali," His observations attracted the attention of American astronomer/millionaire Percival Lowell (1855-1916) who mistook the term "canali" for the Engish word "canals." He based this mistranslation on the presumption that Italian was simply English augmented with superfluous vowels. Lowell assumed that these 'canals' must have been irrigation ditches gouged out of the desiccated soil by a desperate race trying to stave off widespread famine. He constructed an observatory in Arizona for the express purpose of observing Mars so he could watch the progress. He didn't expect to see hypertensive little men in a Roman soldier's Galea. Instead, he believed he would observe the canals expand as the Martians rapidly dug them across the planetscape. If, as he feared, those nasty little Martians had the means to deploy armies to our water rich world, he would be able to warn the authorities, who, of course, wouldn't have the faintest idea what on Earth to do. Lowell's work inspired British science fiction writer H. G. Wells (1866-1946) to pen the famous novel "War of the Worlds" (1898): a horrific tale of an ancient and starving Martian race that attacked Earth to collect its abundant resources. In this book, the humans were hopelessly outgunned and would have been conquered within days had the Martians not succumbed to the diseases against which they had no defense. And, forty years later, Orson Welles*** (1915-1985) made a now famous recording about a Martian invasion of the New Jersey/New York area seventy five years ago! This broadcast caused some panic, but more rage due to the program's intended realism. Ironically, later observations of Mars, by ground based telescopes and surveillance by probes do not show the network of Canali that Schiaparelli recorded in 1877. What was he actually seeing? What were those channels that inspired Lowell to build an observatory to watch for desperate Martians...that lead H.G. Wells to write a novel about a lethal Martian invasion....which, four decades later, was the basis of a radio broadcast that evoked panic and fury? The "canali" that Schiaparelli saw on Mars were merely the reflections of his own eye veins in the telescope's eye piece. No wonder astronomy is known as the 'troublesome enterprise *All text in brackets was written by Orsen Welles and other members of the Mercury Theatre on the Air company based on the novel "War of the Worlds" by Herbert George Wells. **This "Great Opposition" is otherwise known as a perihelic opposition, during which Earth passes between Mars and the Sun around the time Mars reaches the closest point in its orbit (perihelion.) Such perihelic oppositions happen every 15-17 years. Our last perihelic opposition was in July 2018; the next will occur on September 15, 2035. ***If we were reading this article to you, instead of you reading it yourself, we'd have to say "no relation."