The Portland daily press., 1893-11-21
THE CELESTIAL WORLDS.
4 Scientific Study Of the Relatively Enor-
mons Rainrs Tg,ev Might Contain.

d Scientific Study Of the Relatively Enor-
nous Beings They Might Contain.
A great deal has been said and much
speculation been INDUCED in with refer
ence to the question whether the celestial
worlds are Inhabited by intellectual be-
ings similar to she earth inhabltlng man.
It scarcely admits of any doubt that this
interesting question will ever remain
mere matter of speculation, but let us
suppose that beings resembling man In
stature were dwelling on those glorious
orbs we see in the vast vault OF the heay-
ems. ard let us investigate what proper
tions they would bear to US provided the
length of their bodies were in the same
ratio to the diameter of their respective
globe as ours to the diameter of the earth.
For this reason we have chosen the largest
orb of our solar system, the central body
Of that system itself and the most brilliant
fixed star in the sky.
The average inhabitant of the planet
Jupiter would stand about 80 feet in his
shoes. Were such a Jovian to visit our
earth he would be able, without the dam
ger of disIocating his neck, to look into
the topnost stories of our metropolitan
buildings. A Jovian infants cradle would
be considered by us a very comfortable bed
to rest in. The huge soldiers of Arrows
tus, whose mere sight struck terror into
Cesar's legioEs, would dy<7ndle into very
pygmies We're they to be compared with
the Joyian soldier Nay. the latter would
coolly pick up King Ariovistus himself,
with three or four of his bodyguard, and
put them into his znapsack to keep them
as animated toys to play with during the
hours of rest
The solar inhabitant of average size
would measure height of over 600 feet,
SO that were he to visit the earth the most
capacious building ever erected by man
would be too small to offer him hospitality.
Three or four dozen fattened oxen would
form but meager breakfast for that ca
pacious cavern-his; stomach On the
palm of his hand II whole company of ter
restrial soldiers would have sufficient room
to go through their military drill and evo-
buttons. What deafening sounds would
emerge from those enormous bellows
solar mans lungs-eyen if he were to keep
the pitch Of his voice within the limits of
ordinary speech
The distances of the fixed stars from us
are SO enormous that, as yet, no absolute
ly reliable means have been found of as
CoTLaIulIlS til6 Tetit Illtt,HltuuSS VI tuoSS CO-
lossal orbs. Still, it is to be presumed
that some of them, by dint Of frequent OBJ
servations and by applying to them that
powerful lever in the hands of the astron-
omer, spectrum analysis, may be with GER
tainty considered ss being at least GER
tain number of times as great as our sun.
TO most Of us the sun is the very quintes
sence of what is large, but compared with
most fixed stars it becomes small, for were
it removed to the distance of the nearest
fixed star it would shine with the bril-
iancy of only star of the second magni
tude.
Sirius, tie king among the fixed stars
of our armament, is at least SO large that
if it were inhabited by beings similar to
men one of average size would attain to
the dazzling height of / u miles-that of
a respectable mountain peak. Here we
leave it to the imagination of the reader
to picture to himself world peopled with
such gigantic beings, compared with
whom we poor terrestrial mortals sink into
utter insignifcance. Still there is one
consoling thought--yiz, that in small
body there may dwell large soul and
vigorous mind, the one immortal and the
other capable of graphing with the alb
strusest questions of philosophy and sci
ence.-Baltimore Sun.