The Astronomer Who Believed There Was an Alien Utopia on Mars

Percival Lowell’s dogged belief helped bring Mars science to 19th century America

Olympus Mons. Photos courtesy of NASA/JPL.

Sarah Stewart Johnson is a planetary scientist, and the below is adapted from her new book, The Sirens of Mars.

There’s a tiny print of one of the Mariner 4 images on the wall of my office. I have it…