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Why Schiaparelli's maps of Mars were so diverse from those of other astronomers?

The reason is all in the method. Astronomers
earlier (Beer and Maedler, Kaiser, Lockyer, Proctor just to mention a few) had based their mapping " almost eclusivamente above drawings visibly .
Schiaparelli, however, apply to the study and mapping of Mars cartographic methods learned in his studies as an engineer. In fact, he wrote: "Wanting found on the topography of Mars accurate basis, you should follow the same principle, which is used for surveying land. A number of distinct points and easy to recognize, distributed with the greatest possible uniformity over the entire surface of the planet is taken as the basic network and you try to get the position with great accuracy. Among these lines then s'interpolano tracking and minute details of a simple estimation eye. "
Its maps are therefore much more precise, sharp and rich in detail. Here is a map of

Maedler and Beer (1841):



Here is the map of Schiaparelli in 1878:


Here one of the many
planispheres Mars stored in the database:


Credits: Archive Library Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera