Is Mars habitable? A critical examination of Professor Percival Lowell's book "Mars and its canals," with an alternative explanation

In this concise yet thorough study the author takes on Percival Lowell’s celebrated claims that Mars enjoys a temperate climate and even harbors engineered canals. By revisiting the observed temperature data, atmospheric pressure effects, and the moon’s heat behavior, he demonstrates that Lowell’s calculations overlook the cumulative cooling power of a thin atmosphere, leading to a much harsher Martian environment than the one popularized in the press.

Building on these physical arguments, the work proposes a meteoritic origin for the Red Planet and shows how that history can naturally produce the striking surface features—canals, oases, and volcanic plains—without invoking intelligent design. Readers will find a clear, methodical critique that blends observational astronomy with straightforward physics, offering a balanced perspective on early 20th‑century Martian speculation while remaining accessible to anyone curious about the planet’s true habitability.