Which astronomer provided a significant blow to the canal theory by observing irregular surface features in 1909?
Answer
Eugène Michel Antoniadi
In 1909, Eugène Michel Antoniadi, using a large European telescope under near-perfect conditions, observed the supposed straight lines resolving into natural, irregular surface features.
Related Questions
What Italian term did Giovanni Schiaparelli use for the features he mapped on Mars in 1877?What English word, resulting from a translation, inherently suggested artificial construction of the Martian features?What specific phenomenon did Lowell term as evidence of vegetation sprouting along the supposed Martian waterways?According to Lowell's theory, what were the visible dark lines on Mars, rather than the water channels themselves?Where did Percival Lowell specifically establish his observatory to study Mars utilizing clear, dry air?Which astronomer provided a significant blow to the canal theory by observing irregular surface features in 1909?What contemporary engineering feats resonated with the public imagination, framing the interpretation of Martian lines as massive construction?What fate did Lowell suggest Mars's long-term entropic decline predicted for Earth?In *The War of the Worlds*, how were Martians characterized in relation to Earth's resources, reflecting the public fear associated with Lowell's work?What event provided the final, definitive refutation of the canal theory based on direct visual evidence?