Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1889-01-12
A Journey to the Planet Venus.

st. Nicholas for January.
Let us fora moment suppose certain
railways to be built: one round the
world in a perfect circle, Others to
various points in the solar system.
And we will further suppose that the
trains on these railways could be
kept going at the rate of sixty miles
an hour for any required length of
time; that their passengers could
do without food or could be supplied
with an abundance of it; that the
bodies of such passengers could be
made capable of enduring the various
changes ofair, temperature, and other
climatic conditions, to which they
would be exposed.
And on our world this kind of
travel would be comparatively easy,
and would take next to no time. In
twenty-four hours the passenger
could travel ll40 miles, or consider
ably farther than from New York
to Chicago. In fOrty-eight hours he
could travel as far as from Boston to
Liverpool and in less than seventeen
days he could 90 round the world.
But, as regards the journeys in space,
a difficulty in most cases insuperable
would stand in the way. In order to
visit any but very dew of thenearest
bodies in space, the travellers on our
celestial railways would need to have
their lives very greatly prolonged.
Were they to set out for any distant
part Of the system, they all would
die before they had fairly begun their
journey. A voyage to the moon, to
Venus, or to Mars would, under the
above conditions, be possible; to any
other body in the system it would
be impossible.
The journey to the moon would be
comparatively short. Our companion
is distant about 100000 miles; or, in
round numbers, its distance contains
ten times as many miles as are con-
tanned in the earth's circumference.
Travelling at the rate of sixty
miles an hour, and never stopping, il
would take between 166 and 167 days
to reach the journeys end. Com
pared with other heavenly distances,
this is a mere nothing; but compared
with the distances actually traversed
by the average man, it is very great
indeed. Few ever travel at sixty
miles an hour, and then only fol
short periods, and at considerable
intervals. Many, probably the ma,
.iority9 of those who live to a good old
age cover less than 100000 miles dur.
ing their whole lives. A great
traveller might do ii in, say, fifteen
years. For even q conductor OF
engineer Of an express train, it would
require several years.
Let us now take a trip to the planet
o Venus, our next nearest neighbor
This will be a much more formidable
undertaking. We have seen that q
succession of the longest Journeys
over this earth would form but short
and passing episodes in a lifetime,
We have seen that, on one of oul
imaginary railways, the traveller
could circle the world in less than :
weeks. We have seen, not only that
81 journey to the moon is quite
possible to the passengers by ouI
celestial railway, but that equal and
even greater distances are often
travelled on earth, But trip tC
Venus would be a very different
matter. Venus, as already stated, is
about 26,OO0,000 miles away; or, al
sixty miles an hour, without stop
ping, she is distant a journey not o.
three weeks, or six months, but o.
some .ffW gears. On the imaginary
railway, such Journey would be
possible, for great many person;
live longer than fifty years. But il