The sun., 1890-07-13

| and Clouds 1t is not unreasonable to con-
clude that 1t must have oceans capable OF
supplying the needed vapor.
In regard to that half OF the globe Of Venus
which, according to ScH1APARELII, is al
ways turned away from the sun, 1t is I'M
| possible to soy anything that is not OF a
speculative character, and yet the subject is
most attractive. We have something par
TALLY equivalent upon the earth during the
| long arctic and antarctic nights, and We
know that life can exist for time at least
| even under such conditions But II Is hardly
reasonable to conclude. arguing from purely
terrestrial analogies, that the unillumined
| side OF Venus can possess permanent In
habitants. II we chose to indulge our fancy
we might suppose that those sunless regions,
the abode Of unending night and unbroken
frost, where the cloudless skies are ablaze
with stars which. with the probable aid Of
brilliant auroras, furnish the only light that
falls on that side OF the globe, would present
an irresistible temptation to explorers from
the day side OF Venus. From the dark hemi-
sphere, looking out through the clear air into
the black, star-gemmed concave Of the heav-
ems, the adventurous visitor would behold
spectacle OF astonishing magnificence. Next
autumn, when Venus has come between the
earth and the sun and the two planets are
only some 100000 miles asunder, such a
spectator would see the earth overhead as a
star OF overpowerlng splendor. far brighter
than Venus appears to us at Its brightest,
and accompanied by another, fainter but
still bright, star, the moon, playing slowly
about its giant neighbor, like some brill
liantly luminous insect unable to escape
from the charmed blaze.
Upon Mercury, as we pointed out some
months ago in describing SCH1APARELLIs
discovery that that planets time Of ro-
tation comedies with It's period OF revolution
around the sun, there must be two regions
on the east and west borders Of the sunward
hemisphere, where the sun rises and sets.
This is owing to the great eccentricity Of
Mercury's orbit, which produces consider
able librat!on, or apparent rocking back and
forth OF the planet with reference to the
sun. But, as We have seen, the orbit Of
Venus is almost circle, and 30 there Is but
small libration, and the sun must stand al
most still directly overhead at the centre OF
the sunny side OF the planet, instead OF
swinging slowly to and fro along an arc
Of many degrees, as In the case Of Mer-
curry. Accordingly. the border regions be-
tween the light and dark halves Of Venus.
where the sun can be seen to rise and set,
must be narrow, and, probably, too insig-
nificant in extent to offer many advantages
as places OF dwelling.
But how wonderfully does this simple dis
covery OF the Italian astronomer, II it is cor
rect. add to the known diversity Of condi-
in ha MI
With the exception, perhaps, OF Mars there
is no planet beyond the earth which astrono-
mers have regarded as so likely to be
an inhabited world as Venus. Being Of al
most the same size as the earth, the effects
Of gravitation which are so potent In their
influence upon the conditions Of life, must be
very nearly the same there as here. Re-
ceiving a greater abundance OF light and
heat from the sun than the earth gets, Venus
has been poeticalIy pictured as the abode of
beings in whose veins ran a warmer, richer
fuller-toned life than ours, and whose
surroundings presented a more bril-
liant display of natures splendors
and triumphs. But now comes Signor
SCHIAPARELLI and assures us that we must
introduce strange and wonderful elements
into the picture. The earths twin sister
also keeps step to the music Of the sun, 1t is
true. but then she has surprising peculiari-
ties Of her own. Day Is a phenomenon un-
known to one-half of that strange sphere,
and night prodigy that never visits the
other half. In her dense. moist atmosphere
the clouds serve purpose hardly thought Of
upon our globe; and, although We recognize
In her the presence of familiar forms and
~tA to-
that would make the globe Of Venus a
world Of marvels In every part to visitor
from the earth.