The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1890-11-19
OUR NEIGHBOR STARS.
THERE ARE SCHOLARS WHO THINK
THEY ARE INHABITED.

Science Has No Means of Proving II, but Il
Not the Case why Were They Created9
Some OF the Conclusions Which Have
Been Reached by the Professor.
"You remember" said the professor.
as reported in the Cincinnati Times-Star,
my allusion some time ago to the fact
that Mars resembled the earth in many
Of its observed features. It has for years
been the dream Of astronomy to prove
that life exists in some or all of the mill
ions of stars which surround us. The
poetic astronomer reasons in this way:
All things were created for the use and
support of living beings. What use do
the myriads Of heavenly bodies subeerve
If there Is no life? Would not the earth
be altogether devoid Of interest IL life
did not EXIST If there was neither life
nor thought what would be the signih-
canoe of the universe? Reflections Of
this sort enkindle the lively imagination,
and speculation as to what the science Of
astronomy will eventually reveal runs
to extravagant extremes.
SUBJECTS OF SCIENCE IN THE FUTURE.
Mathematical astronomers, like New
ton and La Place, arouse by their mar.
velous calculations a high state Of en-
thusiasrn. But is this the only line
along which we can work. The pre-
diction of eclipses, the division of time
the mapping out Of the courses of GER
tain heavenly bodies with perfect ac-
cFlracy, the discovery of comets, planets
and suns-are those to be the final tri-
umphs of the science which has revolu-
tionized human thought at two or three
stages of mans history Let me answer
in the words of an enthusiast: That is
not the aim. Behold those millions of
suns, similar to that which gives light
to the earth, and. like it, sources Of
movement, activity and splendor; well,
those are the subjects of the science Of
the future-the study of universal and
eternal life. You are going to witness
the dawn of new day Mathematical
astronomy will give place to physical
astronomy, to the true study Of nature.
He goes on to say that by the study
of nature he means the study of the con-
ditions of life in the various parts Of the
universe, the physical condition Of the
planets, their geographical aspects, their
climatology and their meteorology It
will probably be proved that Mars and
Venus are peopled by thinking. beings:
that Jupiter has not yet reached, a con-
dition where life can be supported: that
the conditions are such on Saturn that
the beings which inhabit 1t are Of an
entirely different organization from our
earth jewellers Still further, astronomy
will show that the earth is but one place
IN the celestial country, and that man is
citizen of the heavens 1t viii thus
lead up to a new philosophy. the religion
of superior minds
NEITHER PROVED NOR DESTROYED
'Such is the dream and such the final
object of the telescope search. The
best that can be said for 1t from scien-
tific standpoint Is that the facts OBJ
served neither prove 1t nor disprove 1t.
There Ia only one body where the condi-
tions are believed to be such as to sup
port intelligent beings of our kind. But
that is inconclusive. We can observe
with our telescopes but three or four out
of the millions of heavenly bodies. More
over, there can be definite adaptation.
Should our temperature be greatly raised
or lowered, life as 1t exists now would
disappear from the face Of the earth, but
perhaps there are forms of life which
would thrive under the conditions which
are fatal to u.s.
again, millions of years passed by
before life got a foothold on our globe,
according to the best evidence that wa
have, and for millions of years after life
is extinct here 1t Is expected that our
planet will roll on through space. The
period Of intelligent man is but mo-
ment out Of an immeasurable lapse OF
time. 1t is not probable that, If 1t were
possible to visit each one Of the 90, 900, 900,
stars visible through our telescopes, we
should find more than one or two at the
best where our stage has just been
reached.
Whether the stars are inhabited or
not, we know something about the ap-
pearance of the universe MS presented at
some Of them by analogy.
In the solar system OF Gamma, In
the constellation Of Andromeda, instead
of one sun, shining with white light,
any possible observer would behold three
suns--a yellow sun, a blue sun and
green sun AS one OF these suns would
DC setting another would De rising, and
the color OF objects would be constantly
changing. When the blue sun should be
IN the zenith all the landscape-the rocks
and the waters-would reflect the blue
rays, throwing, perhaps, slight tinges OF
gold or green, due to one OF the other
This is but suggestion Of some of
the magnificent sights which must be