Percival Lowell’s Vision

More than 110 years ago, the wealthy American amateur astronomer Percival Lowell was certain Mars was inhabited by intelligent life.  And he set out to prove it.  Today, we take a look at this intriguing character who fired the public imagination for decades about the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life and left a lasting legacy for astronomy.

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Lowell came from an old, wealthy Boston family that first settled the Cape Ann peninsula of Massachusetts in 1639.  His brother Abbot was president of Harvard University for 24 years.  And Percival himself was a Harvard grad, majoring in mathematics.  He developed an interest in astronomy as a student and delivered a graduation address on the “nebular hypothesis” of solar system formation.

But that was it for astronomy for young Percy… or so it seemed.  After Harvard, Lowell tended to the family business and traveled occasionally to Korea and Japan for 17 years.  He served as a counselor for a Korean diplomatic mission to the U.S.  and wrote four academic books about Japan and its culture, including “The Soul of the Far East” in 1888.

Then, without apparent reason, he caught the Mars bug.  Inspired by the writings of Camille Flammarion and the observations by Schiaparelli of Martian canali (which translates from Italian as channels, not canals), Lowell became convinced Mars was inhabited by an intelligent civilization.

In 1894, Lowell used his fortune to quickly build an observatory near Flagstaff in the clear, dry Arizona sky.  He set up two borrowed refracting telescopes and set to work sketching the surface features of Mars, and he continued sketching and making measurements of Mars for more than 15 years.  His observatory eventually housed an impressive 24-inch refractor made by Alvan Clark.  The telescope remains in use at Lowell observatory to this day.

Not long after his first observations in 1894, Lowell loudly announced his discovery of canals and oases on Mars, which he believed were created by the inhabitants of the Red Planet.  The public was captivated.  Lowell became world famous.  And the idea of life on Mars remained in the public consciousness for decades.

One of Lowell’s sketches of Mars, circa 1895

Professional astronomers had a different reaction to Lowell.  Many were disgusted at Lowell’s thirst for publicity.  Some believed he jumped the gun to announce life on Mars without more careful study and analysis.  No other astronomers could see canals on Mars, including the eagle-eyed E. E. Barnard with the 36-inch telescope at Lick Observatory.

Many began to believe (correctly) that the canals were an optical illusion.  Skepticism about the canals increased amongst astronomers over the 20th century.  Though it was not until Mariner 4′s flyby was the existence of canals was disproved completely.

If Lowell was troubled by the scorn and derision of the astronomical establishment, he didn’t let it show.  He remained at his telescope for the rest of his life, making drawings of Mars, as well patiently sketching an early map of Venus.  Though again, what he saw on Venus was uncertain since we know now Venus reveals no surface features in visible light.

Lowell also predicted a ninth planet– which he called Planet X– based on oddities in the orbits of Uranus and Neptune.  He searched for Planet X himself until his death in 1916.  The observatory’s staff continued the search until 1930, when Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto at Lowell Observatory.  Though it turns out Pluto was too small to be Planet X, and the whole issue disappeared when, much later, accurate determination of the mass of Neptune showed the outer planets moved as expected.

So Lowell was wrong on Mars.  He was wrong on Venus.  He was wrong on Planet X.

Was he a failure?

We think not.  Though he made few original scientific discoveries, Lowell left a legacy of a world-class observatory which still contributes to the advancement of human knowledge.  And he stimulated public imagination for planetary exploration more than anyone in his time.

We wonder how many astronomers of the past century owe their careers to Lowell’s imagination and dedication.

Today, Lowell’s Observatory is a U.S. National Historic Landmark.  His mausoleum stands on Mars Hill near the observatory.