Roseburg review. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 1885-1920, 1885-02-27
THE PLANETS.
Their Origin, Growth, ard Deatl, Described
by Pref Proctor.


by Pref. Proctor.
Prof. Richard A. Proctor lectured on
'sThe Planets" He compared the diff
ferent bodies in the solar system to the
trees in forest--some, like the sap
ling, young, others of mature growth;
others, again, old. and others still,
withered and dead. These things fol-
lowed just as in any other evolution.
This earth is in its middle life, doing
what she was intended to do. The
stages of planets. life were given
| from the time when it was formed
by t he gathering together of the frag-
| ments until its death. The first stage
| is that of intense heat, and the greater
| part of the time the planet would be a
mass of vapor, the orb being lustrous
and glowing, giving out intense heat.
| Later it would lose heat, and the great
er part of it would become liquid, af-
| terward becoming solid. The earth,
while in its first stage, had probably d
| diameter of 10000 or $4,000 miles, in
earlier stages the volcanic and other
disturbances were much greater than
now. The globe gradually became
| cool enough for life, and life would be-
| gin. There is evidence that the earth
is ten millions of years old, but it is
difficult to say what is the age
of a planet when life on it begins.
Sir Isaac Newton believed that the
waters of the ocean were being grad
ually absorbed by the earth. The
waters of the sea were being diminished
in this way, but in what degree can not
be said. They are absorbed to the
thickness of a sheet of paper in one
year, to the thickness of an inch in one
hundred years, in ten millions of years
Ca mere second in time) ten thousand
/ feet, In time all the waters would be
gone, and in long period the air Itself
would become so thin that it would
not support life. Planets, like Other
bodies, cool slower as they are Of
greater bulk. If the earth cooled il
ten million years, then it would take
Jupiter seventy million years to cool
Thus, the. large planets are yet in theil
i youth or first stage, while the small
planets are in their advanced age
Thus the moon shows old age, Will,
Jupiter is yet baby. The larger one.
have the characteristics of youth ant
the small ones old age.
: Illustrations of these things wer,
thrown on the screen. The sun shoW
better than any OF the others tn,
. vaporous first stage, and no one be
lieyes it to be the abode of life. Beint
the largest, the sun Is the youngest o
all the solar system as regards advance
!, ment in life. The tornadoes of the sui
move at the rate of one hundred mile
; per second. All the tumults of eartl
combined would not equal the noises OF
sen@square mile of the. suns surface
The great disturbances of Jupiter wer
compared with those of the sun. Jupi
ter is still glowing, and too hot 70
: life. Saturn was also said not to b
the abode of life.
The condition of planets less than tn
) earth was considered. Mars show
division of surface into land and water
Masses of snow are seen, which groy
larger in winter and smaller in sum
mer. This has been the case every sea
son for two hundred years-the tim
which has elapsed since their discovery
: Oceanic and air currents are also oh
j served. The reduct on of the seas ind
r Gates age
! The moon is so old as to be in plan
etary death, though evidences of he
! fiery youth are yet to be seen in til
mouths of her extinct craters. She i
, not too cold or too hot to support life
! ! but the seas are all absorbed, and ther
is no air, or it is SO thin that no crea
ture known in this world could live il
? in it. There is no water, and the moor
: is dead. Pictures of the moon wer
: thrown on the screen, showing he
!, death and desolation. Myriads of ex
, | tinctYolcanOes We're shown