Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1883-01-31
"O,her Worlds Than Ours"

| The recent observations made on the
| planet Venus during her transit across the
sun appear 10 confirm the impression de-
rived from the last transit, Ia 1874. that
she has an a.mosphere not less dense than
our own, and aqueous vepor and cloud
within that atmosphere. This conclusion
would have grieved the late Professor
Whewell, who, IN his ingenious essay to
disprove the plurality of inhabited worlds.
took for granted that We ''dlscern no traces
Of gaseous or waiery atmosphere sur
rounding her (Venus)," and built on this
n gatIve evidence one of his arguments to
prove that 10 the whole universe the earth
is not Improbably the only habitable globe.
| Professor Whewell did bis best to show
that the earth held a very singular place
in what might be very unique solar sys-
ten; that 1t occupied what he called ''the
| temperate zone" of Its own suns system,
and that there is no particular reason to
suppose that any other sun has planetary
attendants at all In order to make out
/ tine singular position OF the earth IN its
own suns system, Professor Wheweil was
compelled 10 make the most of the intensi-
| ty of the light and heat in Mercury and
Venus, and the most again. OF the compar
alive cold of Mars. In polut OF fact. how
ever, II Is probable that very slight med
| ification of our human organizstion-even
| if any structural modification at all of that
organization were necessary-wouid enable
creatures of the same general structure
and habits as man 10 live with ease In
either of the planets nearest TO the earth.
IN either Mars, which should, caeteris
pari6us, be colder and darker. OF in
Venus, which should caeteris pari6us
be lighter and hotter Than the earth We
know, to some extent, the contiguratlon OF
the continents in Mars, and our astronom-
ers have at times watched the area of the
polar SHOWS of that planet increasing with
the approach OF winter and dwi, ding
with the approach of summer. OF Venus
we know much less. the intense brightness
of her reflected light being very unfavor
able condition for minute observation.
But the apparently clear evidence for an
atmosphere of good deal OF density, and
for the preeDce of cloud and aqueous vapor
in that atmosphere, disposes completely OF
the late Professor Nhewelrs assumption
that no creature resembling man now has,
or could ever have, his abode there. There
now seems no reason TO doubt that In
Venus the conditions of physical exls; ence
are sucl that either there now may be
there, or may have been, or may be in
future, being whose ply steal existence
might, like that of man and the animal
natures nearest to man, exist under some
thing closely approaching to those OF ter
restrial life. The length of the day IN
Venus is nearly the same. the weight of
any given mass is nearly the same, the at
mospheric conditions are probably not
very different from our own; the only |
material differences being probably the |
length of the year, which is not very |
much above the half of ouIs-or, say |
about seven months instead OF twelve
and the amount Of night and heat, which |
unless mitigated by special atmospheric |
conditions, as they easily might be, would |
probably be twice as intense as terrestrial |
light and heat.
We insist on this analogy. however,
only for the sake of those who like the |
late DIR. Whewell, made the argument |
from analogy so all-important, though in
relation to question on which, as II ap- |
pears 10 US, the argument from analogy |
has really very slight bearing indeed l
There is no reason IN the world why spir |
iiual beings, much more like 10 US In their |
thoughts than il is at all probable that |
birds and tortolses are like 10 US in their
thoughts, should not exist everywhere
IN the pure ether, in the hottest flames of |
the sun, IN the dimness of the darkest re-
cesses of space, in the heat Of the volcano,
or In the depth of the ocean. Ignore the
from analogy and we can hardly
have less secure basis for reasoning, |
where observation is limited as it is in |
this case, IN one minute corner of the uni
verse, and we shall find no more reason |
why we should coufine the Creators power /
to working within conditions closely re
sembling cur own than there Is why we
should assume that He will work at all in
regions where we have no evidence of thai |
work.