Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1883-09-27
A GLIMPSE BEYOND THE EARTH.

awful as 1T is, appears small affair beside
the cOnvulsiOns which anybody who will
take the trouble to visit an observatory may
witness in some Of the other Orbs of the
solar system. At this moment there are
visible upon the disc of the sun the effects
of connections which would not merely
shatter an island, but involve the whole
round earth in blazing ruins. 1t is not
necessary, however, to look to the sun,
where the final fiery processes of that nebul
contraction, which, it is believed, gave
birth to the solar system, are proceeding
with an energy Of which we can have no
ADEQUATE conception, in order to find ex-
amples of the disrupting forces that are at
present manifesting their power in other
worlds than ours OH Il scale that belittleS
the Javan eruption. On Jupiter, for in
stance, the telescope reveals the most sur
prising changes continually going on in the
appearance of the surface of the planet, and
Which can only be produced by forces Of a
magnitude unequaled upon the earth. AS
tronOmers are just now watching Jupiter,
which is fast drawing away from the neigh
borhood of the sun in the morning sky, with
intense interest, in order to determine
whether one Of the most surprising appear
ances that were ever witnessed upon that
planet, are yet visible. Late in the sum-
mer, Il faint gray spot Of an elongated shape
presented itself in the southern hemisphere
of Jupiter In a few weeks, it had changed
its color to Il deep red, and had become 50
| conspicuous, that even small telescopes
reveal it. The great dark belt that encircles
the planet south of the equator, was seen
to be bent away from this fiery looking spot,
in the most curious manner. The spot was
pointed ut ends, and surrounded at times
by Il sort of whitiSh aureOle. 1t was not
less than 900 miles long, and 5000 miles
broad After long watching, astronomers
found that this red spot took Il longer time
to make its journey around the planet than
some light spots which were seen near the
equator of Jupiter. What could this eX-
traordinary object be? Nobody could tell,
although Il dozen theories were suggested.
Last fall, the great spot began to fade. ~
thin veil, as of smoke or cloud, seemed to
have been drawn over it. The veil grew
thicker, and the spot lost its red color. Last
winter, only a few of the largest telescopes
in the world could reveal Il slight trace
of the fading spot. Jupiter went behind
the sun, and now that he has reappeared
within the range of telescopes, it is proba-
BILE that not even the most powerful will
show where the red spot was The ObSer-
vatiOn of such Il phenomenon as this ON
Jupiter is interesting to the inhabitants of
the earth, because there is reason to believe
that Jupiter is now in Il stage of planetary
development that was passed by the globe
upon which we live ages and ages ago. So,
watching the changing appearance Of Jupi-
ter's surface we are able to compare an
early stage OF the earth'S history, when it
was subject to thrOes that were felt from
centre to circumference, or when perhaps it
was yet Il molten ball surrounded by a sea of
dense vapors, with its present condition,
when volcanic Outbursts are yet able to sink
islands and overwhelm cities, but can, after
all, only shake and split its crust here and
there, without being able to crush the rocky
| framework.
The great volcanic eruption in Java sug-
gests another curious consideration. If we
accept the conclusion of those who think
that at least two of the suns family ofwOrlds
besides the earth, namely, Venus and Mars,
are now inhabited, we must admit the pos
sibility that the Javan convulsiOn aroused
the interest of other beings besides the in
habitants of the earth, for with telescopes
as powerful as those Of terrestrial astrono-
mers, the supposed dwellers on Mars and
Venus could easily see the cloud caused by
the eruption. From the moon it might
have been seen with the naked eye, if there
had been anybody there to look.-N. Y.'SW.