Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-12-18
LIFE In OTHER WORLDS.
THE TIMES AND SEASONS OF OUR
FELLOW PLANETS.

Celestial Bodies Whose Consultation L.
Best known to Us-we Shall Probably
Stay Where We Are.
ie not think that it is at oil probable that
man could exist even for five minutes on
any other planet or any other body in the
universe We know that even within the
limits of our own earth each one of us has to
be provided with constitution appropriate
for particular climate. An Esquimaux is
suitably placed in the Arctic regions a negro
on the equator and were they to change
places 1t is hard TO say whether the heat
would not have killed the Esquimaux even
before the cold killed the negro. But such
an attempt at acclimatization would be easy
when compared with that which would be
required before an inhabitant adapted to one
globe could accommodate himself 20 a resi-
dence on another. Indeed, there seem 10 be
insuperable difficulties in supposing that
there can be any residence for man or for any
beings nearly resembling man elsewhere than
on his own earth.
THE SUN Is TOO HOT.
Let us begin with the sun. | think we
need not give many reasons to show that a
man could not live there long. Every boy
knows how burning glass can kindle piece
OF paper by concentrating the suns rays
Some great burning glasses have been CON
structed with which iron, steel and even
tlints have actually melted by the suns heat
1t can he proved that the sun himself must
be hotter than any temperature that can be
produced in the focus of the most powerful
burning glass. Assuredly there can be no
life on the sun
The next celestial world to the sun in i'm
portance is, of course, the moon. Could we
lind here an eligible abode for mankindl The
moon would, no doubt, provide the necessary
alienation from day TO night but the day
on the moon would last for fortnight. and
then there would be black night for another
fortnight. During the long day the moon
would be terribly scorched, a circumstance
which would be hardly compensated for by
the fact that even If We survived the scorch-
ing we should certainly be frozen TO death
during the ensuing night But there would
be other insuperable difficulties attending an
attempt to make an abode on the moon. The
absence of water is one of them, while still
more immediate trouble would arise from the
deficiency, If not total absence, of air suited
for respiration.
IL Is almost impossible. for US TO conceive
what an airless world Would be like. Fishes
out OF water would be not more uncomforta-
BILE than We should find ourselves.
Let us now consider some of the more dis
tant worlds and examine their claims IN he
regarded possible homes for beings in any
degree resembling ourselves There are many
of these worlds with regard to which we NAV
at once decide in the negative. Could we,
for instance, live on planet like Neptunei
1t lies thirty times as far from the sun as we
sun which Neptunian nbahitant would ra1
ceiye could only be the pine-bnndradth mart
Of that which is dispersed To eyer dyeIIor
ON this eorth This fact alone yvonjd Saar,, -,
show an insunerahle obstacle m tho oxis,o,,,,,
of any life ON Nent,,na rasenhlino, thoso ,,,,,.
of life with which xv. orc far,;I;a- tn. p
bit of Neptune is also 50 vast thai tbs rIana,
reouires a neriod of 1s5 vaarS in orIa,- -,
conrJata sinc,., ra,,oI,,.;a,' rha -. ~
of the Nantunia1 ss,sors 70 iraaoI -
can no said 10 have anv saoso,,s ~ IN ,',.-.
therefore he extremalv rrotr,ctaJ 4 -
who was horn nj mid1,;ntsr il, N,,,,,,,, -
have reached extreme old ACE IL he s,,,-,;roI
until the next ensuing nidsnmmar
Trrprrrp Avn M.ps
Tho day md NIGHT c,, J,,,,;,o,. ,., Ill.
tremely short fo, tocatbar ,ho,- 5o ,,,, 80,
amopnt ~ tan borre Tr,,;,o.,, -. o' -
aa 8
no., ~, - -, "a. FI'uousn
tr,.,,,.,,- ,,f.t p, :, ~" - .eeNe one
h., ,,la A. =. A. =. .ne SUI 'h'i'
Iu.,I,, ,hat .ta-1 - =. ~ io' seem
- - - u eaSoi " appre
e.. "a 80. ., 1t oe W uiiiniiaol'apie ~
Su'e 'ue Sonlai Is tne case
ihueeu' II seetis not unlikely that the exces-
SiNe neat "f Jupiter would be found lntolera-
ole py oe'hgs WIN nerves IKE ours This heat
mas no"e'er' not come from the sun 1t Is
tne internal neat Oh the planet itself, which
mas not suiilclently cooled down from that
original merry state In which every body Of our
sSS.ei. seems 70 nave had its origin
Jupiter certainty mas an atmosphere, but
We 10 ho' hho" from "hat gases that at
nospnere may De constituted 1t might con-
sise Oh materials noxlous, II not actually
poisonous, ana IN any case 1t Is extremely
uliikeiy 'iiat II SHOULD contain both the in-
greuients ana tne proportions suited for our
respiration.
lhere Is one body In our system whose