FR73-252139
FTD-TT-62-488/1
UNEDITED ROUGH DRAFT TRANSLATION
TRUTH OF THE YOUNG COMMUNIST LEAGUE (SELECTED ARTICLES)
BY: I. S. Shklovskiy
English Pages: 10
SOURCE: Komsomol'skaya Pravada, 1 May 59 and 31 May 59.
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Date 18 May 1962
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Table of Contents
PAGE
1. Artificial Satellities of Mars, I. S.
Shklovskiy..............................................1
2. Riddle of the Martian Satellites, by I. S.
Shklovskiy....................................7
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Artificial Satellites of Mars
An interesting hypothesis by a Soviet Scientists
Recently, the well known Soviet scientist, Doctor of
Physicomathematics
Sciences I. S. Shklovskii, advanced a new hypothesis of the nature of
the satellites
of Mars. Our correspondent visited Dr. Shklovskii and asked him a
number
of questions.
Question:
What does modern science know about the satellites of mars?
Answer:
Mars has two small satellites - Phobos and Deimos, which
translates
into Russian as Ctpax and Yxac (Fear and Horror). They were
discovered in 1877
by the American astronomer Hall. Phobos, the closer to Mars of
the two, moves
in an almost circular orbit with a radius of 9476 km, i.e., about 6000
km from the
surface of Mars. It revolves about the planet in 7 hours 39
minutes; a Martian
day consists of 24 hours 37 minutes.
Deimos also revolves in a circular orbit having a
radius of 12,500 km. It
revolves about Mars in 30 hours 18 minutes. Both midget moons
move in the Martian
equatorial plane.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to measure the
diameters of the Martian satellites
from Earth with modern optical observations. Only by knowing
their brightness
and assuming their reflectivity to be equal to that of Mars (that of
Mars is
15%) can we calculate the dimensions of the Martian moons. Such
calculations have
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shown that the diameter of Phobos is approximately 10 km, and that of
Deimos is
8 km.
There have been no direct measurements of the mass
of the Martian moons.
This, briefly, is the extent of our knowledge of the
satellites of our neighbor
in the solar system.
Question:
How do the satellites of Mars differ from those of the other
planets
of the solar system?
Answer:
The first distinction is their extremely small size. No other
planet
has such small moons (excluding artificial Earth satellites). The
second distinction
is the fact that they are very close to Mars. The fact that the
period of
rotation of Phobos is less than that of Mars is quite unique in our
solar system.
One cosmogenic hypothesis followed another, but they
could not explain the
origin of these strange satellites. If we assume that these are
asteroids
fortuitously captured by Mars, we cannot explain why they move in
almost circular
orbits located exactly in an equatorial plane.
The satellites of Mars differ in another amazing
feature from all other satellites
in our solar system.
In 1945 the American scientist Sharples conducted a
series of observations
of the Martian satellites and compared the obtained results with those
previously
derived, specifically with those obtained early in the century by the
Russian
astronomer Cherman Struve. The Russian scientist calculated with
high accuracy
the position of the satellites in their orbits at any moment in
time. Apparently,
the theoretically calculated position of Phobos did not agree with the
actual
position. The discrepancy was huge, in only a few decades Phobos
moved ahead in
its orbit 2º5 from the calculated point! This fact could not
be explained and
made for an outright scandal in celestial mechanics!
If the motion of Phobos was accelerated during this
time, then Phobos approached
the surface of Mars. This is what happened with the artificial
Earth satellites:
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they are moving with in atmosphere resistance, thus, _______, ___ __
___ descend
also accelerate.
The changes in the nature of the motion of Phobos
are so large that we can
say with certainty: we are witnessing the slow agony of a
celestial body. After
all, in only 15 million years Phobos _____ fall on Mars. In
astronomical units
this is a very short time.
Question:
What causes are advanced by astronomers to explain the slowing
down of Phobos?
Answer:
Several papers in the foreign press have been devoted to this problem.
Two possible causes for such slowing down have been advanced.
First, the resistance
of the medium surrounding the satellite, the same cause as that which
slows sown
the artificial Earth satellites. If this medium is interplanetary
matter (in the
vicinity of Mars, generally speaking, it should have a higher density
than in the
vicinity of Earth), then why does it not slow down the more distant
Deimos?
Perhaps this is the Martian atmosphere. However, calculations
made by the prominent
American astronomer Whipple together with Kellaid now support this
contention.
The second cause for the acceleration of Phobos
could be the tides. Since
Mars has no substantial expanses of open water, we must account only
for the tides
within the solid shell of this planet. The famous English
astronomer Jefferies,
a great specialist in tides, recently subjected this hypothesis to
rigorous
mathematical examination. According to his calculations the tides
in the solid
shell of Mars could explain only one ten thousandth part of the
observed acceleration
of Phobos.
These are the causes for the anomalous motion of
Phobos examined in the
foreign press. However, other causes are possible.
We must, of course, admit the possibility of
existence in the vicinity of
Mars of a strong magnetic field slowing down the motion of
Phobos. However, my
mathematical calculations refuted also this possibility.
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Finally, we cannot exclude, generally speaking, the
possibility that the
acceleration of Phobos obeys the laws of celestrial mechanics and is
due to the
attraction of Deimos, the sun, or other planets. However, all
these causes should,
as again shown by calculations, affect the motion of Deimos more than
the motion of
Phobos. However, the opposite is observed.
It is in this manner that I came to the conclusion
that no natural causes
can explain either the origin of the Martian moons or the peculiar
motion of
Phobos.
Question:
How do you explain these anomalies?
Answer:
after analysis and rejection of all imaginable causes for the slowing
down of Phobos I arrived at the following conclusion: most
likely, it is the
braking action of the upper, highly rarefied layers of the atmosphere
that plays
the determining part. But, in order to make this braking action
so significant,
and taking into account the extremely rarefied Martian atmosphere at
this altitude,
Phobos should have very small mass, i.e., very low average density,
approximately
one thousand times smaller than the density of water.
But can a continuous solid have such low density,
probably smaller than that
of air? Of course not! However, we can imagine that Phobos
is not coherent but
is rather a cloud of minute dust particles separated by appreciable
distances from
one another. But such a cloud, as calculations showed, would
inevitably spread
along its entire trajectory, changing into something resembling the
famous ring
of Saturn. There is only one way in which the requirements of
coherence, constancy
of shape of Phobos, and its extremely small average density can be
reconciled.
We must assume that Phobos is a hollow, empty body, resembling an empty
tin can.
Well, can a natural celestial body be hollow?
Never! Therefore, Phobos must
have an artificial origin and be an artificial Martian satellite.
The peculiar
properties of Deimos, though less pronounced than those of Phobos, also
point
toward an artificial origin.
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Question:
Aren't the Martian satellites too large to be of artificial origin?
Answer:
Of course the artificial satellites of Mars are of appreciable size.
Their masses are on the order of hundreds of millions of tons, or even
larger.
The building of such satellites does not present any insurmountable
engineering
problems to rational beings. There is no doubt that in the
centuries to come such
gigantic satellites will be found around the Earth. Of course,
such satellites
shall be launched sufficiently far, a few Earth radii away. In
such a case,
braking by the infinitely rarefied residual atmosphere and by tides
will be so
insignificant that they will be able to exist for hundreds of millions
of years,
tens of thousands times longer than the known history of mankind.
These will be
monuments far more durable than the "eternal" pyramids which are
exposed to the
action of sun, wind, rain, and cold! Aren't the Martian
satellites such monuments
of a past highly developed culture?!
The present climate of Mars is the climate of a cold
plateau, 18 km above
the surface of the Earth. Its atmosphere has almost no
oxygen. I am convinced
that highly developed life forms can no longer exist there.
Perhaps the simplest
growths, something like moss, lichen. But, apparently two or
three billion years
ago the situation was somewhat different. Many astronomers
believe that in those
days the Martian atmosphere contained oxygen and its surface was graced
by large
expanses of water, seas and oceans. It is likely that at that
time rational
beings appeared on Mars and reached a high cultural level. I
shall not visualize
either their concrete form or what happened to them, but in a certain
stage of their
development they inevitably went beyond the confines of their
planet. Incidentally,
on Mars, with a much lower gravitational pull than on Earth, the
realization of
a cosmic flight was much more feasible.
Question:
Can it be shown experimentally that the Martian satellites are of
artificial origin?
Answer:
Yes, of course it can be done. The best proof will be a direct
landing
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of terrestrial astronauts on these satellites. However, even the
keenest predictions
do not expect this to happen in less than a few decades. Far more
immediate is the launching into the vicinity of Mars of a rocket probe
equipped
with scientific apparatus. This would make it possible to
transmit to Earth
important information concerning the nature of Martian satellites.
Terrestrial observations can also assist in the
clarification of their nature.
Careful measurements of their brightness would be extremely
important. As is
well known, asteroids, which in many cases have dimensions thousands of
times
larger than those of the Martian satellites, as a rule are not round;
after all,
these are simply rock fragments. Their rotation about their
center of gravity
produces a sharp periodic change in brightness. If, for instance,
the brightness
of the Martian satellites will prove to be constant, this will be a
support of
their spherical shape and an important confirmation of our hypothesis.
In one way or another, the hypothesis of the
artificial origin of the Martian
satellites shall not remain a hypothesis much longer. In the next
few years, or
at the most, in the next decade, it shall be proven by new and
absolutely
convincing facts, or other explanations will be found for the
mysterious "anomalies"
in the character of Martian satellites.
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The Riddle of the Martian Satellites
Recently in this newspaper there appeared an
interview by our correspondent
of Doctor of Physiconmathematical Sciences I. S. Shklovskii concerning
his
hypothesis of the origin of Martian satellites. The Soviet
scientist starting with
the abnormalities in the motion of one of the satellites proposed the
motion of
their artificial origin. Yesterday we spoke again with Dr.
Shklovskii and asked
him to tell us how his hypothesis was received by the international
scientific
community.
The opinion of Soviet scientists was divided, said
Professor Shklovskii.
Academician L. I. Seaov, Corresponding member of the Academy of
Sciences of the
USSR V. L. Ginzburg, Professors V. I. Arasovskiy, A. I. Lebedev, K. P.
Stanyukovich,
and others, gave the hypothesis a favorable reception. Some
other Soviet scientists,
however, particularly Academician V. C. Fesenkov, received it with
skepticism. They
advanced a number of objections, which seems untenable to me.
The American scientists considered the newspaper
article almost as a belated
April Fool's joke. Thus, the prominent American astronomer
Gerald Kuiper, the
director of the Astronomy Department of the University of Chicago
declared:
"Shklovskii probably said all this to see what the newspapers would
make of
it... He cannot seriously believe in such nonsense."
An even more radical view was expressed by the
venerable astronomer Dr. Slipher,
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who called my hypothesis "nonsense from the realm of science fiction."
Apparently the basic for such negative but not very
convincing opinions was
the fact that the authors familiarized themselves with the hypothesis
from rather
free translations of the article in "Komsomol'skaya Pravada."
They did not bother
to give some simple consideration to my conclusions. Perhaps it
is customary
among American scientists to find frivolous jokes on the pages of
serious
newspapers; this, however, is not the case with the Soviet press.
Besides, before
replying in such categorical manner to a scientific hypothesis it
should be
necessary to become acquainted with its scientific exposition rather
than simply
with a popular article.
My scientific conclusions are based, in part, on
American observations
concerning the acceleration of Phobos. In my polemic with Dr.
Kuiper which was
broadcast to the American public early in May I stated, among other
things, that if
new unpublished and unknown observations shall prove that Phobos is not
accelerated,
I shall, of course, renounce my hypothesis. Since such
communications have not
come forth, the objections are swept away as not very serious.
In the course of the month of May the question of
artificial Martian
satellites attracted the attention of mankind. The American
astronomers were
forced to admit that my scientific argumentation was correct.
Thus, for instance,
the representative of the largest naval observatory in the US declared:
"Shklovskii quite correctly calculated that if the acceleration of
Phobos
is true, the Martian moon must be hallow, since it cannot have the
weight of a
natural body and behave in the prescribed manner."
The prominent American scientist, Professor Singer,
declared that "if the
figures used by Shklovskii are correct, his conclusions are
irrefutable. If
Phobos is accelerating, as indicated, this moon must be a hollow shell
whose 'skin'
does not exceed a thickness of 8 inches, even though its diameter is 10
miles."
In this manner the position of the American
scientists taken lately substantially
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differs from the initial; the irony aimed at my hypothesis ___ _____
_____ without
leaving a trace.
However, the well known American scientist Gerald
Clemence declared a few days
ago that the data on the acceleration of Phobos were shown to be
incorrect by
the English astronomer from the Greenwich Observatory, George
Wilkins. Wilkins
has not yet published his investigations, but, according to Clemence,
intends to
do so.
We shall await the publication of Wilkins' or
similar work. If Phobos in fact
does not accelerate, there remain no strict scientific arguments in
favor of the
artificial origin of Martian satellites. The question of their
origin will then
remain open, without excluding, however, the possibility of an
artificial origin.
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