The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1897-06-01
THE PLANET VENUS.
Its Wonderful Brilliancy Attracts
Great Attention

Its Wonderful Brilliancy Attract.
Great Attention.
The latest news in astronomy con
Germs the planet Venus, whose wonder
ful Eriltiancy in the southwestern SIX,
alter sunset now awakens universal ad
miration, says the New York World
Mr.. Percival Lowell and his assistants
at his observatory in Mexico have seen
more distinctly the face of Venus thar
IL has ever been seen before. At leas,
1t would appear from their drawings
and descriptions of the planet hat sue b
must be the case.
Mr.. Lowell unhesitatingly confirms
! the discovery made some years ago by
Sig. Schiaparelli at Milan, that Venus
always keeps the same side turned to-
wards the sun. 1t takes Venus 225 OF
our days To revolve round the sun, and
accordingly that is the length of the
year on Venus.
But instead OF having 225 days and
nights in it's year, Venus has oniy one
day and one night, ard they never in
terchange place. The one amending
day is always found ON the same side of
the planet, and the one unchanging
night forever reigns on the other side.
some astronomers still question Sig.
oS'ioP"' Oil o anu LO"Sil results, Dut
am strongly disposed to believe that
they are right. The const quences that
follow from them are exceedingly in
teresting and some fresh views of these
are now suggested.
Suppose that the earth should sudden.
ly stop turning on its axis, or rather
should slow down its rotation until it
revolved just asst enough to make a
single turn in year. Then it would
in that respect resemble Venus, and
while the sun would never set on one
half Of it it would never rise on the
other half.
AT fret sight it might appear that
perpetual day would be a pleasant
thing. But, neglecting its influence on
sleep, which is so essential to the pre-
servatlon of the vital powers, consider
what perpetual day would mean for the
astronomer. There Is plenty of evil
dence, by the way, that Venus has an
abundant atmosphere. Unceasing sun
shine, and sunshine twice as hot as that
which we get, because Venus is SO much
nearer the orb of day, would, in the
course OF time. evaporate all the water
from that side of the planet on which it
shoue, or at any rate from the central
portion of that side.
The clouds thus formed would be car
hall, where the sun never shines.
There, in onsequence of the intense
cold prevailing, they would condense
and fall as snow. In the end, perhaps,
the oceans on the day side of the planet
would all be carried in this manner
through the atmosphere and deposited
as snow and ice on the night side.
Mr.. Lowell thinks no water could re-
main on the bright side of Venus, and
that the dark side must in consequence
be completely covered with ice, as
Greenland is. 1t seems to me, how
ever, that most OF t. , ice and snow
would be gathered along the region
lying near the outer edge of the dark
hemisphere, and that thus Venus NAV
be encircled with q great ring of ice,
rising even into mountainous peaks,
and forming an immense barrier be-
tween the day and night halves of the
pl net.
But whether entirely buried in ice
or only ringed round with it. the night
hemisphere would unquestionably be
very cold. On the other hand, the day
hemisphere would be very hot In the
first place the suns rays striko at O.
comparatively small angle with The
surface OF the planet, aud the effec.
must be, just as upon the earth, that
their heating power is greatly dimiu-
ished. Then that may be the region
where the cold air currents, setting In
from the ice covered area, flow near the
surface, while the hot air raised by the
influence OF the sun in the central part
OF the lighted hemisphere passes above
them on the way to the night side.
This would produce a further ,ame-
lioratiOn of temperature. The conse.
quence may well be that, just as on the
night side there exists a broad belt of
snow and Ice completely encircling the
planet, parallel and adjoining to the
line between perpetual day and night,
30 on the day side, in o corresponding
position, there exists belt where the
temperature is not excessively hot,
where the climate, though unchanging
as to seasons, is at least endurable, and
where bodies of water and productive
areas of vegetation are to be found.
| This would be the habitable belt OF
Venus, and thus, II this speculation
Tor OF course 1t Is nothing more-is we'll
founded, we have presented to 'us the
| spectacle OF world almost exactly as
large as the earth, which has no inter
| change of day and night, hut which is
divided into two totally different hem
ispheres, one frigid and ice encircled
and the other excessively torrid, dry
and desert, while between the two in q
narrow belt-a belt Of life-dwell the
inhabitants.
And, after all, why should we not in.
dulge our Imagination in regard tt
Shese things The human mind would
starve with facts alone. 1t must make
them live by exercising It's creative
power over their dry bones and that
power, when property exercised, never
oontravenes the truth, for 1t never at
tacks the truth, but on the contrary
discloses 1t by lifting the concealinl
curtain and letting in the light. Fact,
are the rails on which the engine o
science runs, but imagination furnishes
the motive power.