Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-04-14
INHABITANTS OF OTHER WORLDS THAN
OURS.

The recent observations made on the
planet Venus during her transit across the
sun, appear to confirm the impression de-
rived from the last transit, in 1874, that
she has an atmosphere not less dense than
our own, and aqueous vapor 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 discern no traces
of gaseous or watery atmosphere sur
rounding her Venus, and built on this
negative evidence of his arguments to prove
that in the whole universe the earth is not
improbably the only habitable globe. Pro-
lessor Whewell did his best TO show that
the earth held very singular place in
what might be very unique solar system !;
that it occupied what he called the
temperate zone" of its own suns sys-
tenn, and that there is no particular rea-
son to suppose that any other sun has
planetary attendants as all. In order
to make out the singular position of
the earth in its own Guns system, Prof.
Whewell was compelled to make the most
of the intensity of the light and heat in
Mercury and Venus, and the most again OF
the comparative cold of Mars. In point of
fact, however, it is probable that the very
slight modification OF our human organiza-
tion-even if any structural modification
at all of that organization were necessary
would enable creatures of the same general
structure and habits as man to live with
ease in either of the planets nearest to the
earth, in either Mars, which should, cp
teriS paribus, be colder and darker, or In
Venus, which should, cCeteris pari6us, be
lighter and hotter than the earth. We
know to some extent the CONFORMATION of
the continents in Mars, and our astron-
omers have at times watched the area of
the polar SHOWS of that planet increasing
with the approach of winter, and dwin.
ding with the approach of summer. OF
Venus we know much less, the in.
tense brightness of her reflected light
being a very unfavorable condition for
minute observation. But the apparently
clear evidence for an atmosphere of good
deal of density, and for the presence CT
cloud and aqueous vapor in that atmos.
phere, disposes completely of the late
Prof. Whewell's assumption that no crea-
ture resembling man now has. or could
ever have had, his abode there. There
now seeing no reason to doubt that in
Venus the conditions of physical existence
are such that either there now may be
there, or may be in future, being whose
physical existence might, like that of man
and animal natures nearest to man, exist
under something closely approaching to
those of terrestrial life. The length of
the day in Venus is nearly the same, the
weight of any given mass is nearly the
same, the atmospheric conditions are prob.
ably 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 ours-or say,
about seven months Of twelve-and the
amount of light and heat, which, unless
mitigated by special atmospheric condi.
tions, as they easily might be, would prob
ably 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 DR..
Whewell, made the augment from analogy
so all.important, though in relation to a
question on which, as 1t appears to us, the
argument from analogy has really very
slight bearing indeed. There is no reason
III Inc WoIiu why sPiituai peibSs, mucn
more like to us in their thoughts than it is
at all probable that birds and tortoises are
like to us in their thoughts, should not ex.
ist everywhere-in the pure ether, in the
hottest flames of the sun, In the dimness
of the darkest recesses Of space, in the
heat of the volcano or in the depth of the
ocean. Ignore the reasoning from analogy,
and we can hardly have less secure basis
for reasoning, where observation is limited,
as it is in this case, to one minute corner of
the universe, and we shall find no more
reason why we should confine the Creator s
power to working within conditions closely
resembling our own than there is why we
should assume that He will work at all in
the regions where we have no evidence of
that work i London Spectator.