Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-11-29

A Scientist Gives Reasons for Believing
They Are not Inhabited.

Prof. Mcfarland, of the Ohio State
University, in The Sidered5 Messenger,
says: Thirty years ago the question of
the habitability of the planets was
widely and, in some instances, intem-
perately discussed. Several volumes
were written, pro and con, the writer's
mostly seeming to think that they had
direct commission from on high to
settle the question or to settle their OPP
ponents, which things they proceeded
! then and there to do. And both sides
about equally forgot or disregarded the
facts, and, with great heat, argued on
general principles.
An article in the June number of The
Popular Science Monthly, entitled The
Cost of Life and which was in part
criticised in late number of The. Mes
senger, is a kind of renewal of the use
less debate, and is clothed in logic
equally as conclusive as was that of the
original controversy. The points given
lately touching the weight of man on
Jupiter and on Mars were included as
a part of the proof that those planets
are not habitable. To pass in review
all the points of error would require an
article of too great length for the pages
of this journal, so | shall cOnfine myself
pretty closely to few of the more i'm
portant ones.
The same author, speaking of Mer-
curry, says: with temperature of
boiling water in the frigid zones, and
red-hot iron at the equator" etc.
therefore there can be no life on the
planet. But there is no proof of any
such temperature, and in the nature of
the case there can be none. Wherefore
the conclusions are of no force. The
error consists in virtually assuming
that the climate of place depends
solely on it's distance from the sun
whereas this is only one of a hundred
causes.
1t is well known that even in the tor
rid zone, at an elevation of about three
and one-half miles snow does not melt;
that century after century eternal
SHOWS whiten lofty peaks in all ATTITUDES.
The temperature of a place on the
earth surface depends on many infiu-
ences, any one or several of which may
be greatly modified or annulled by the
other, so that there is no general rule
for climate.
AS part of the multitude of things
to be taken into consideration, as touch
ing the matter in hand, we may name
these-viz., the latitude, the elevation
above the sea-level, the ocean currents,
the direction of the prevailing winds,
the presence and trend of mountain
ranges, the amount of yapor usual to
the atmosphere, the degree of clOudi-
ness, the quantity of rain and snow fall
the size of the body of land, the amount
of land in close proximity, and its sur
roundings, the nature of the soil, the
amount and kind Of vegetation, the
density and hight of the atmosphere,
the length of the day, the obliquity of
the sun rays, and the thousand and
one other things which 90 to make up
the whole temperature and climate. Of
the greater part of these-indeed, al
most every one of them-as exhibited
on other planets, it is absolutely impos-
sible to know anything at all; and, as
q matter of course, no one can speak
intelligently of the climate on any plan
ct except our own. But should all these
items be known, the further question
arises whether it is not possible that
animated beings could live in an envir-
onment totally unlike that which sur
rounds us. The conclusion of the whole
matter, so far as astronomy and physics
can now tell, is this: That the four
large outer planets have not sufficiently
cooled down to allow life on their sur
face, such as we see on the earth; that
Mars gives all the telescope and ster-
eoscopic probabilities of conditions COM
patible with life as we see it; that the
earth certainly for millions of years
has been covered with multifarious life;
that of Venus and Mercury we have no
certain knowledge; and that the satel-
lites are pretty certainly not fitted for
such life as is on the EARTH that, IN par
ticular, on" moon has no water and nc
atmosphere, consequently no climate
or vegetable life. Ii the sun and the
planets continually lose heat, then there
will come time in the far future when
the sun itself shall 90 out in eyerlast-
ING night, and the planets cool down SO
that the eternal snow" would be hot
compared with the degree of cold
throughout all space where everything
shall be dead