Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-02-15
LIFE ON ANOTHER PLANET.
Eiccas OF . Visit 20 Ceres Upon the En-
kaSitAtts of the Earth.

haSitAhts of the Earth.
Our earth is small enough, only 7,9l9
miles in diameter, but Ceres is only 100
miles. These words may easily pass in at
one ear and out at the other without leay-
ing any impression behind; or, if they
cause US to think, we will wonder how
easy 1t must be to get from one country to
another, how delightful to be able to sail
around the world, pay visit to ones
friends at the antipodes and be settled at
home again all within the short space of
TWO successive play days.
If we look at the subject little more
closely we shall find that it involves far
more extraordinary consequences than
these. We know that while the earth
spins around men, dogs and horses, balls
ana stones hold on or fail to the earth.
This force which attracts matter to matter
is called gravity or weight 1t is stronger
IN proportion to the amount of matter and
weaker in proportion to the square of the
distance of an object from the center of
gravity. Now the diameter of the earth
being fifty times greater than that of Ceres.
1t follows that boy here is fifty times
heavier than he would be on the little
planet. If he weighs 100 pounds here he
would weigh only two pounds there
Boys could play at ring taw with huge
round powders instead of marbles, and
play football with balloons. Girls could
carry dolls as heavy as their mothers and
strong bull would be an easy load TO
bear. But things stranger still would han
pen. We know that if a body be once set
i'll motion it will continue moving forward
II not stopped by some external force.
Thus, when boy leaps into the air he
would 90 to the moon and further were it
not for the attraction of the earth, which
very soon pulls him down again
But on the little planet Ceres this force
is so small that boy might leap to an
enormous height before the attraction
would check his ascent. Jumping over a
housetop would be as easy as PLAYING leap
frog, while a good jumper would think
nothing of clearing with short run the
tower of the new city hall. Staircases
might be abolished, for even a stout old
lady could easily jump in at a third story
window. The range of proiectiles would
be increased in proportion. Baby could
hurl his rattle into Council Bluffs, and in
the event of a war an ensign at Fort
Omaha with a krupp gun could defend
San Francisco against the invader. Nor
have we yet exhausted the wonders of
Ceres.
We can imagine how uncomfortable it
must be for fat man of 300 pounds weight
to walk, run or exert himself But trans
port him to our queer little friend Ceres
and he is at once at ease. In moment he
becomes fifty times lighter than he was
as light, in fact, as kitten-and he NAV
proceed, if he pleases, to astonish the aero
batic natives of the planet by gymnastic
exploits far surprising even their own
Muscular exertion there goes fifty times
as far as it does here, and the exploits men
are capable of achieving there must sur
pass the widest flights of fancy and the
most exaggerated visions of fairyland
Stronger than the vanquished Titans of
old, letters Of iron would be to them as
threads of gcssamer.
Like the genius of the Arabian Nights"
they could spring from the earth to the
clouds at bound, or clear half dozen
miles at single leap. The seven league
boots would be no longer fable A boy
could start on run around the world and
be back again before his mother had fin
ished singing out his name; race horse
could gallop 5000 miles an hour, while the
sea would boil and foam with the gambols
of its mighty inmates and the gigantic
carcass Of leviathan extend for a mile
along the beach. Omaha World