The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-01-17

| was. NO doubt, = time whom such q proposition.
able to:contend that any member Of the plan.
essentially different from those OF Wb,cb ths
earth Is made. Ithas been the triumph OF
modern science TO demon.,rate by the
are constituted are essentially the same as the
No doubt the. method OF analysts which an.
nounces this important result f)r the sun and
for stars, does not apply, exactly in tho same
manner TO the planets. 1t must DO admitted
that we cannot assure ourselves by direct obser.
walton that the planetary elements are alto.
certain extent, however, the method IA ,yei,
able even for the planets, and IL shows, for in
present fn tho clouds surroundinp Junitsr
Inc errument IS however, sufficiently conciu-
s s,vsito t wnSneyer we have the opportunity Of
In the universe. we invariably Hnd them TO be
constituted from the Same substances that we
torbids us to suppose that there can BE- st 10 any
ehteh. elemcnt,i \, Jupiter differing essentially
'f9 W. 'n maS Il cbe wniSn t ,sss earth y Is formsdi e.,
II chemists could obtain specimens OF Jupitsr
and take them into their laboratories for exam.
tally COMPOSED Of those very same elements
With Witch they are already familiar In terres.
now very close TO the explanation OF the re-
markable DISPARITY bctw sen the bulk OF the
There cannot be tho least doubt that Jupiter
70 very much hotter than tho earth. II must
be unds rstood that In this statement I am not
30 far ms that goes Jupiter receives much less
heat Than the earth' so that 4 we, were only
tor was much colder than the earth. IL can.
indeed. be show that tho share Of sunbeams
which arrive a such q distance as that which
part of tho share of sunbeans which we on
icy. The heat q Jupiter e which ! now refer /.
y cute Z a,nefoht Kind. IL Is what 10
We believe that the Interior Of tho earth 1.
yery hot, hotter indeed than molten iron.
globe, is now but little Influenced by the In
ternhl heat. On the other hand. tho sun 10
outer. regions OF the great luminary are OBJ
viously in q flnrce stste of incandesonce. Let
Intermediate in condition between the earth
and the sun. Let us suppose It hot enough
at the surface to transform any water that
might, DO present Into steam. though not hot
sG siHhs S %SIc, r In ,hi' way we might produce
same physi"ai character as Jupiter. in such
9 body the quantity OF matter in tho vaporous
comparison with that Of a collier globe which
actual material. In this Confederation. we
can no doubt find the reason why jupiter,
though only $40 times rs heavy as the earth.
Is certainly 1.23o times rs big. Jupiter has
our globe. The. outer parts OF the great
planet consist OF layers OF dense yapor thou
sahus OIL, mics IN thickness. which have In
creased the bulk OF Jupiter enormously with
out adding TO his weight In anything like tho
same proportion.
These considerations will explain the pecu-
liar aspect which Jupiter presents to the OBJ
server. IL Is obvious that in tho great planet
a widely different character from the earth on
which he stands. or fro n such bodies as tho
moon and the planet Mars. The telescope
shows tho features on these objects TO be OF Q
permanent character The :rators and
mountains on the moon are evidently solid,
and time reveals little or no change In them.
ills perhaps not quito So true to say that the
features OF Mars aro PERMANENT. But tho fact
that charts OF Mars have been prepared. and
that the leading objects thereon can always
be regarded In many essential respects as q
rulid body, Ike our earth. A map OF Jupiter
depicts, however. n very different scene,
With the exception to be. presently noted. we
do not find on the rreat planet any permanent
feature: Marks OF various kinds there are
no doubt. But most OF these have but little
more permanence than .is possessed by tho
clouds on our own sky. The marks by which
Jupiter's surface Is. diversified are but our
views Of the clouds which so thickiy sur
de oths OF space who wa. endesyoring to sur
yey our earth would find ut all times thar q
large part OF The surface OF our globe was et-
~fectually hidden ftom his scrutiny by clouds.
But we must suppose that With due patieLco
he would be able to seize q moment when each
tract that he desired to inspect was free from
cloud. so that by careful watching he would
doubtless succeed In the lapse OF time In Oh
tanning some fair notion OF tho geographical
conditions CT our globe. But the clouds of
clouds which our ear b. that we ar,
never able TO obtain any view OF what Jupiter
ROBERT s. BALL