"Thirsty People on Mars," a feature in World Magazine, July 8, 1906. For a time in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was believed that there were canals on Mars. They were first described by the Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli during the opposition of 1877, and confirmed by later observers. Schiaparelli called these canali (channels), which was translated into English as "canals". By the early 20th century, improved astronomical observations revealed the "canals" to be an optical illusion, and modern high resolution mapping of the Martian surface by spacecraft shows no such features. Some people, such as US astronomer Percival Lowell (quoted in this article), director of Lowell Observatory, went so far as to propose the idea that the canals were part of an irrigation system built by an intelligent Martian civilization. The article begins: "Scientists now know positively that there are thirsty people on Mars. Getting a water supply is the great problem on the dying planet. The Martians have mastered the art of making water run up hill. The people are probably of a much higher type than the inhabitants of Earth."