Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1880-03-17
Che freemam.
For the Freeman.
Another World Like Ours,
y LECTURE BY DIR. HIRAM A. CUTTING.
PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL REQUEST.

which he IS now giving free at Luuenburgh.
In Isaiah, 10th chapter. 18th verse, we
lind the declaration. BY" For thus saith the
Lord that created the heavens. God him
self that formed the Garth and made it.
He hath established it. He created it no,
in vain. lie formed it to be inhabited
We all well understand the truth of this
declaration, yet we seldom stop 10 think
how great this creation was. When we
do think we can but realize that the dis.
coveries due to science, which we know
must be accurate, rs their results are ac-
curate, which we see in the foreknowledge
we have of eclipses, transits, ETC.. which
are the results Of the perfect knowledge
we have of the solar system, which means
the sun and its retinue Of planet worlds,
of which the earth is one. The sun.-the
acknowledged centre of this system, is
over eight hundred and eighty thousand
miles in diameter, n globe Of such vast
dimensions that if its centre was at the
centre of the earth, not only the whole
space from the earth to the moon would
be filled, but the moon itself would be two
hundred thousand miles beneath its sur
face. present before you II planetarum
in which the planets move in order, and j,
gives you an idea of the solar system, but
with the earth this size, (about one inch)
the sun should be thirteen feet in diameter
To represent the relative sizes let u,
take a level plain on which we place q
globe two feet in diameter for the sun
Mercury, the nearest planet, eighty-two
feet away, rs Il small mustard seed.
Venus next, Il medium sized pea, one
hundred forty-two feet from our supposed
sun.
The earth, Il pea two hundred fifteen
feet distant.
Mars, so unlike the earth as we shall
see, IL small pea three hundred twenty.
seven feet distant.
The Asteroids, as two hundred ten
grains of sand, yes, fine sand, at the dis
tance of seven hundred feet.
Jupiter, u medium sized orange, one
fourth of mile away.
Saturn, Il small orange, one-half mil'
away.
Uranus, Il gard en- cherry, tbree-fourth
mile away.
Neptune, as u large pea, one and one
fourth miles distant.
With this comparison, perhaps bcttei
than with figures, we can give some ldea
of the vastncss of this creation. But our
cultn, represented as II smallish pea, con-
tains two hundred millions of square
miles of surface. To examine this, if We
were placed on the summit of Mt. Wash
ington, where we could see forty miles il
every direction, which would be an arei
of five thousand square miles, and a
much rs we could grasp at one view, yet
it would be but one forty-thousandth part
of the surface Of the earth. Should we
thus contemplate such landscape each
hour, for twelve hours every day, it wouC
require nine years and forty-eight days tC
view the earth's surface If we wert
removed in balloon high above the sur
face OF the earth, as far off rs the moon, Of
farther, from our elevation we should Sc,
the white clouds moving over the surface
the blue ocean and the continents tinge'
with greon-the increase of snow and ic
in polar regions, in the winter; and will
our actual knowledge Of our globe W
should make things ont with a small tele
scope quite distinctly. Let us bear this il
mind, us we consider what we know O
other worlds.
First, by the way of meteors, which,
not from other worlds, are at least from
space beyond our own, and hence show u
the material at least of the solar system
They have brought us in their compositio
certain elements that play II very eXtensiv
part in life upon our globe-such rs oXy
gen, hydrogen, salt and carbon. Th
aerolte which fell at Oregeuil in lS6
brought us coaly matter; carburets thu
are due like peat 10 vegetable remains
Ore which fell in France in 1872 brough
US salt. If from France we get This much
Other countries have had their share
bringing Us water in the form Of hydrate
oxide of iron and other material. Thi
argues strongly that other worlds do nc
,,,b IN t,o nj he
hand comes spectrum analysis by whic
the rays Of sunlight that pass to Mar
show us positively that it has an atmos
phere similar TO our own, with water
vapor like our clouds, and like our cloud
also producing fog, snow and rain. Telt
scopic examination shows us coniiguri
lions of land and water so nearly like thu
of earth that we cannot for n moment bC
lieve that God who created this planet S
much like our own, could not say rs
tins earth that "IIe created it not in vair
lie formed it 10 be Inhabited
Being very de,rous to find if practical
astronomy itsylf gave any direct proofs
the belief OF many In the plurality of il
habitable worlds, have occupied myse
by the study of Mars when under favor;
bic periods for examination, as when neal
est the earth in 1875. 1877 and 1879.
find the movement of the clouds similar t
that of earth and on comparing the obser
vations made by different astronomers,
find satisfactory proof of my subject thf
on Mars, ut least,we have great similart
10 earth Mers at its closest approach t
US is about thirty.live millions of mile
distant Venus it is true comes nearer
but rs she is between us and the sun W
clnnot see much Of her, but Mars bein
upon the other side Of our globe present
her face full Of sunlight so when her al
mosphers is clear, and ours also, we ma
look upon her continents and oceans. Sh
has a little greater inclination to her ax