New-York tribune., 1874-01-13
THE FAMILY OF PLANETS.
SECOND LECTURE OF PROF. r. A. PROCTOR
BROOkLIk.

SECOND LECTURE OF PROF. r. A. PROCTOR IN
BROokLYN.
The second lecture of the course of six to
be delivered in Brooklyn, in NewYork, Dy Richard A.
Proctor, Honorary Secretary of the Royal Astro.
nomical Society, given at the Brooklyn Acad-
emy Of Music, last evening, under the auspices of the
Brooklyn Mercantile Library Association. There
large audience the Academy punctuay at the hour OF
g. and Mr. Proctor began his lecture without any intro
ducion. The subject treated "The Family OF Plan
cts" and illustrated like the preceding lecture
The Sun" with photographs exhibited large scale
by means of the Oxyhydrogen Stereopcou Of the ste
yens archaeological Institute.
Prot Proctor considered the subject OF planets from
the point view of life in the woods, and divided the
solar family into pars--the interior family, Mer-
cury. Venus, the Earth and its moon. and Mars and
the outer family, Jupiter, Saturn. Uranus and Neptune
One OF the points the utter diversity between them
and only the inner family could be judged from the
analogy OF our earth. In dealing with Mercury,
the feature that first strikes is the intense heat to
which is exposed. The year OF Mercury So Of our
DAYS The quantity of heat which it exposed varies
from four times what the earth has. At such an
sed heat on this earth animal life would cease 10
exist 1t possible, though doubtful that life does
exist there Mercury is planet waiting for the time
when life exist in itwhen the suns heat shall be
sufficiently reduced And here is fact OF great i'm
pOrtance There long SUGGESTIONS of ages during
which life was possible this EARTH and viewed in
this light planet is intended TO support life, for
all time, but only for small portion OF the planets
existence
The gravity OF Mercury owing 10 its smallness s
duced that pound would press only four or five
We sometimes look the well ght OF matter as
an inconvenience but without it objects would not be
firm, and should stagger for want OF weight-the
same difficulty ind in trying to walk in water be-
yond certain depth.
Venus, that to all appearances the most beautiful
Of planets, IL very disappointing 10 astronomers
owing to the sun and its position with
regard II cannot be satisfactorily viewed by
OF the telescope Ii is hotter than the earth
without equalng the heat Mercury. and has tides
which barely comparable with those Of the earth.
peculiarly OF Venus, the lecturer SAID on
account the nge Of her Xs toward the sun there
would bc great change III the condition OF the
planet IN Winter and IN summer aud the change would
be serious than the extreme heat and cold In
either condition. Continual migration only would make
Earth ia relation to the Moon which he insisted
much planet the earth and only 10 us could appear
as satellite.
Mars unlike Venus. he resumed, can be studied very
fny aud has features strongly resembling those OF the
earth The same sort OF climate to prevail there.
Clouds are Observed and have been discovered
II has been suggested that the vegetation Of Mars Is red
not green but there Is no evidence OF that. Spectre
scope lnyrstl.atons have proved the existence of
wafer and from that fact it follows that storms and
other phenomena due TO evaporation must prevail there
The theory IN relation TO Mars was that IL l. disc ar
globe covered with hoar frost, aud having other
peciliaIics which render II unfit habitaOn. The
That idea and establish the theory that that
planet was like the earth IN all par
icuars; but after thorough investigation he
determined on advocating the theory he had INTENDED
destroy. Mars had its Oceans but you could travel
from 10 the other without touching land and
IN Ike manner one could travel through every portion
OF lis land without touching water In proportion 10
Its tze wss considered that Mars had the quan
MY VI Land and water As the earth: but there was