The weekly Louisianian. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1872-1882, 1874-03-28

SCLENTZFIC.
THE FATE OF THE EARTH.

AAa1 very large pOrtl0n OF the III
scientific public which is intereste
IN questions relating to the *'futu1
OF the earth" will do well to look g
No. Z OF Haf-hour Recreations i
Popular Science" published b
Estes 4 Lauriat, Boston. Th
number in question is a paper b
Prot. A. Wincbell, of the Universit
OF Michigan, on the Geology of th
Stars" in which he gives a summar
of the present condition of scientif
knowledge with regard to the histor,
of matter, from its nebulous to it
stellar, and, finally, its planeta1.
condition. On the probable future
of the earth the first two phases
throw no. light, but the last does
There is in the moon, as every ont
knows, no present evidence of the
existence of an atmosphere or O,
water; but their teformer existence
is a fair and direct deduction from
the doctrine Of the common origin
of the earth and moon." But il
they once existed how shall we ex-
plain their disappearance ? They
have been absorbed by the rocks.
In an age long gone by, the moon
was in the same physical condition
as the earth. The water on its sur
face, or that which descended in
periodic storms, as it percolated the
porous rocks and thin crust of the
moon, soon reached temperature
dissipated itin vapor. and returned
it to the surface to be recondensed.
But the moon, having only one forty
ninth the bulk Of the earth, cooled
forty-nine times as rapidly as the
ca2th, and at lenghth a temperature
was reached at which the rocks on
the surface took it in faster than it
could be evaporated again, 'The
moon is a fossil world, an ancient
cinder suspended in the heavens,
once the seat of all the var1ed
and intense activities which clarac-
terize the surface of our earth, but
in the present period a realm Of
silence and stagnation."
Such will be the fate OF the earth.
our planet has passed
through the 'tring condition" now
presented by Saturn, and the stage
low seen in Jupiter, in which "a
1ater-mist begins to condense in
he peripheral regions" and gathers
With a vaporous envelope; this pre-
'ipitates an aqueous rain, which
Ultimately finds resting-place upon
he incrusted nucleus. Later, life
makes its appearance. Then comes
he terrestrial stage, in which we
'ow are, and in which the ssorganic
base eliminates" Then comes
he stage in which Mars now seems
0 be, with diminished vapors and
q frequent rains, encroaching cold,
nd "decline of the organic phase"
last of all will be the stage in which
he moon now is, beginning with
he disappearance ofaqueous vapors,
nding with the total absorption of
cean and air, the extinction of Or
al ization, and final refrigeration.
'The progressive cooling Of the
arth will allow the waters to cir
alate deeper and deeper. When
10 thickness of the terrestrial shell,
'hich must be saturated with water,
as doubled, the increased demand
lust lower the waters OF the ocean,
nd long before refrigeration has
cached the centre the thirsty rocks
i'll have swallowed the sea and all
ar surface waters. The drained
I'd shrunken and shivered zone
ing nearer the surface will suck in
le atmosphere, and this will disar-
ear in the pores and caverns of the +,
world" IL
The Eclipses this Year:-There ]
i'll be four eclipses in 1874, viz : t
otal eclipse of the sun, April 16, +
sible in the southern part Of South !,
merica and southern part Of Africa; :
visible in the United States. A
lrtial eclipse of the moon, May l.,
visible in the United States. An
lnular eclipse of the sun, October q
}, visible in Europe, western Asia t
ID eastern Africa; invisible in the q
nited States. A total eclipse of p:
q moon October Is, visible in the
nited Stltes. In New England it '
ii commence two minutes before I
A. NJ, and end ten minutes before =
at 81 i will be total Besides 8
ese there will be a transit of
,nus across the SUMS disc, Decem-
+ 8, visible in the Pacific Ocean, e
Ma and part Of Europe, invisible t
the United States. This event !
II attract the special attention Of !.