The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1874-04-11
GheGttelLiqeurer
EVOLUTION OF TIE EARTH.
Its Slow Development from Body
of Heated Gus TO n Condition
Capable OF Sustaining Life.

Its Slow Development from a Bod
of Heated Gus TO CondiIlO
Capable OF Sustaining Life.
Fourth article showing tho proce's tbrou9
which planets have passed, - exemplifed b
the probable carly history Of the Garth
Editors Of the Intelllgencef:
II is a law OF nature deduced from Ii
uniform experience and observation O
mankind, that every system Of effects a.
tains It's completion through an evolu'
ton or growth, No complex result come
into existence through q single instan,
tanGous causation. Man reaches BIZ
maturity and power ofintellect by an eVo
luton or gradual growth. Plants grow
animals grow; nations grow; custom!
grow; religions grow; sciences grow; and
among political economists, the belief L
very generally obtaining that "constitu-
tions are not made, but grow" Hence Il
is that men Of science, finding every
where the indications Of individual and
Of collective progress by growth, have
come 10 seek Tor the origin Of even our
solar system, by referring II to a similar
process OF development. Nor Is the
analogy mere fancy; the facts OF special
observation fully sustain the parallel they
would establish. AS a botanist entering
for the first time forest ofunknoWn trees,
and finding them around him In all stages
OF development, from the seed or the
naScent sprout to the monarch OF o thou
sand years, could at once trace out the
process OF growth through which even
the PROSTATE and deCsying trunk had
passed to reach the state In which It was
found, so the astronomer, when viewing
tho siderCal heavens and observing
worlds in all the various stages Of growth,
can perceive what must have been the
past condition, and what must be the
probable future OF our earth, that member
Of thcspeCies which VIC inhabit
THE EVOLUTION OF PLANETS.
In my last paper had followed the
condensation OF the primitive nebulous
mass, OF which the solar system originally
consisted, until ii had reached that phase
of development in which periphcral rings
commenced TO detach themselves from lis |
equatorial region. or this period Of
growth the types arc furnished US by sew.
erRl complex annular nebulac situated In |
different consultations. When the first
ring became separated from the more
rapidly concentrating central portion, the |
rotating spheroid extended outwardly as |
far as the orbit Of Neptune, and from its |
still greatly dilIused bulk, had not reach |
cd that axiAl velocity which subsequently
caused 1t TO assume very oblatc spher-
otdal or lens shaped form. Hence this
annular detachment would be thiCkest In
a direction vertical 10 its plane of rotation;
would resemble aZ0ne Of peeling cut from
the greater circumference Of an apple, or
in other words would be hoop shaped.
Now this being the case, when conglom-
GRAFTON OF the ring occurred from the
causes mentioned in my last article, It's
tendency would be to revOlve upon its
axis in the plane Of its greatest diameter,
since the least resistance would be encoun.
tered in that direction, or at q great incl.
nation 10 the plane OF Its orbit. This Is
observed TO be true OF the two outermost
planets, Neptune and Uranus, (both oil
which must have been formed from hoop.
shaped rings), the latter being inclined
more than ninety degrees 10 It's orbItal
plane, causing in the revolution Of it's SO.
tellitCs, an apparent retrograde motion TO
be seen, similar 10 that produced by the
hands Of aIwatch, then the latter Is lying
on its face.
SATURN AND JUPITER.
The main body OF the concentrating
ncbula having now condensed to the lin. {
It's OF Saturn's orbit, from the contraction {
Of bulk, and the liberation OF further heat,
greatly increased speed OF rotation will {
have ensued, and the vapOrous spheroid /
will have become decidedly lentiiorm in 4
shape. Hence the next ring detached /
will not be hoop-like, but will be quoit-
shaped, and when aggregated will tend {
to revOlve upon its axis in q plane ap-
prOXimatively coincident with that offs {
orbit. Saturn aud Jupiter both conform
TO this requirement Of the hypothesis, the
axis Of the latter, being almost perpen-
dicular to the course Of its orbit. More.
over, from the greater angular velocity {
possessed by the exterior circumference g
Of a QUOT shaped genetic ring, than would c
be possessed by its interior circumference, g
q more rapid axial rotation Of the result.
tant planet should ensue, and in both '
Saturn and Jupiter this condition is com. '
I'SA "lhuI ShSA SOAuplCklu6 no uiuI ubl
revolution in about ten hours. 7
TnR INFERIOR PLANETS.
Two causes will now combine 10 pro-
duce smaller planets than the four gen.
etc rings already cast of, namely the
much decreased circumference Of the
solar nebuls, and the strong attractive in.
lluCnCe cxerted upon the retreating mass,
by Jupiter and the exterior planets !
This latter force would powerfully tend !
toward the premature discngagement Of
the rings next forming, and we find the !
expected result Of this action in the zone ,
Of planetoids which composed the ring
detached next after Jupiter. This ring
must have been extremely thin and hoop. 3
shaped, since though occupying an orbit
much larger than the earth's the aggre-
gate volume OF the more than 100 bodies
to which 1t has given rise. IS less than the
volume OF our moon. Upon the separa. I
nI q ring 80 attenuated as
this, and so Immediately under the great
attractive force OF Jupiter, the coalesCence
OF its disrupted sections would be next to !
impossible, and they would therefore con.
lInue revolving separately as asteroids
IFN 1, N-, l. ~ Al