Wichita eagle., 1889-12-15
LIFE IN OTHER WORLDS.
THE TIMES AND SEASONS OF oun
FELLOW PLANETS.

Searching the Possibilities OF Existence c~
| Celestial Bodies Whose Constellation In
Stay Where We Are.
| / do not think that it Is at ali probable thai
| a man could exist even for five minutes ON
| any other planet OF any other body in the
| universe. We know that even within tho
| limits OF our own earth each cne Of Us has to
! be provided with constitution appropriate
| for particular climate. IN ESquin,aux Is
| suitably placed in the Arctic regions. negro
| on the equator. and were they 70 change
| places it is hard to say whether tho heat
would rot have killed the Esluimaux even
| before tie coli killed the nero. But such
an attempt a. decentralization wouid be easy
| when coInuared with that which would bs
| required before en- ilhabitaHt adapted TO one
| globe could Accommodate himself to a resi-
Gence on another. Indeed, there seem to be
irsapera5le GifTicgl-ies IN suppoSinE that
there can be any residence for uan or for any
beings nearly resembling man elsewhere than
on his own earth.
The sUx Is roo Hor.
Let US begin WITH the sun. I think we
need not give many reasons 10 show that
man could not hve there long. Every boy
knows how q burning glass can kinGlc piecs
Of paper by concentrating the suns rays.
Some great burning glasses have been con-
structed with which iron, steel and even
fints have actually melted by the suns heat.
1t can be proved that sthe sun himself must
be hotter than any temperature that can IL
produced in the focus Of the most powerful
burning glass. Assurezily there can b. no
life on the sun.
The next celestial world to the sun in i'm.
portance is, of course, the moon. Could We
find here an eligible abode for rlankindi Tho
moon would, ne dor,xt, provide the Necessary
alienation from day 70 night, but the day
on the moon would last for fortnight, and
then there would DC black night for another
fortnight. During the long day the moon
would be terribly sccrched, circumstance
which would be hardly compensated for hy
the fact that even If We survived the sccrch-
ing we should certainly be frozen 10 death
during the ensuing night But there would
be other nsuperable difficulties attending an
attempt TO make an abode on the moon. The
absence of water is one of them, while a still
more immediate trouble would artse from the
deficiency, If not total absence, Of air suited
for respiration.
1t Is almost impossible for us 10 conceive
what an sirless world would Do like Fishes
out of water would be not more uncomforta-
bic than we should find ourselves
Let Us now consider some of she more dis
tant worlds and examine their claims to be
regarded as possible homes for beings in any
degree resembling ourselves. There are many
of these worlds with regard 10 which we may
at once decide in the negative. Could we,
for instance, live on n planet like Eeptunei
IL lies thirty times as far from the sun as We
do. The share of the light and heat from the
sun which a Neptunian inhabitant would re-
ceive could only be the nine-hundredth part
OF that which is dispersed to every dweller
on this earth. This fact alone would seem to
show an insuperable obstacle 70 the existence
Of any life on Neptune resembling those types
of life with which we are familiar The or
bit of Neptune Is also 50 vast that the planet
requires a period OF 165 years in order to
complete single revolution The changes
of the Neptunian seasons, il indeed Neptune
can be said 10 have any seasons at all, must
therefore be extremely protracted- A man
who was born at midwinto In Neptune would
have reached extreme Old age II be survived
until the next ensuing midsummer
JUPITER AND MARS
tremely short for together they do not quito
amount 10 ten hours. Jppiter's year how
ever, is almost twelve OF our years Although
a man on Jupiter would only receive one
twenty-iifth part Of the hea, Of the Sun that
he would do on the earth. yet it does not seem
likely that there would be reason To appre-
bend that Jupiter would be uuinhAbitabls
from cold Quite the contrary is the case.
Indeed, il seems not unlikely that the excns-
sive heat Of Jupiter would be found intolera-
bic By beings with nerves like ours. This heat
has, however, not como from the sun. II is
the internal heat Of the planet ITSELF, which
has not sufficiently cooled down from that
original fiery state in which every body Of Our
system seems 10 have had its origin.
Jupiter certainly has an atmosphere. bus
we do not know from what gases that at
mospberc may be constituted IL might CON
sist Of materials noxions, If not actually
poisonous; and in any case IL is extremely
unlikely that IL shosrid contain both the in
gradients and the proportions suited for orr
respiration.
There Is one body in our system whc@e
times and whose seasons accord so closely with
our own that IL is impossible not TO believe
that life Of come kind may there he found
The length Of the day aud the night together
on Mars is "a hours n MINUTES That Is rrsc-
tically only about half an hour greater than
the corresponding period for otu own giobs
The year Of Mars j. no doubt longer than
ours, being about year and eleyeu montha
The size Of Mars Is less than the dire Of oar
earth, and, therefore, the rravftation sn
Mars is not - great as we have here. / do
not mean 70 say that it Is rhs least likely thu.
any man. woman or child trans, larte from
thisearth 70 Mars could live and thrive th~Te.
The temperature might be eDd7rabic, and
water appears 20 bs not wanting, but Go
not think we have any reason 10 expect that
he atmosphere would suit human beings
.ither IN quantity or quality. Sal ;hs con-
iitions on Mars are nearly parallel 70
hose sRye that il seems reasonable 20
.hink that the ruddy plane, 10 suitabls
home for some types u life.
OF the other planets, suea - Venus, ws
NOW too little % say anything With regard
70 their times aud ssaAoDs. while about tie
countless worlds which dey~nd upon tbo~e
u her runs tbs stars We must Be ooussc4 Got
q know anything vhatever.-Robert 4. Bal.
T. X s., Astronomer Royal for Ireland, In
Times.
Rirh Red Men
The Usage :rlns Of I1dixas whose res<r-s-
ton - between Eszsns AID tbe Cynex oorr.xy,
are Eve t.a~s 81 rseh ~ TIE average Il