The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-03-13
WONDERS OF ASTRONOMY
pRoF. GARRETT p. sERvTss TALKS
OF VENUS, MARS AND THE sun.
with the Aid OF Telescopes the In
habItants If other Worlds Can WITT
ness Many Things ON Earth.

ssWould any other worlds In our planetary
system be cognizant OF our war with Spain
in case such am event should occur?"
asked Prof. Garrett p. Serviss, the we'll
known astronomer and lecturer At first
blush this would seem to be an idle question,
but when one considers the wonderful
achievements of science within the past few
years, the marvellous work of that almost
magic instrument the spectroscope, and the
great telescopes like those at the Lick and
Yerkes observatories, which were only re-
Gently constructed, my inquiry is merely
natural inference as to the possibilities of
the future.
Few men living are more competent to
answer such an interrogatory than Prof.
Serviss. AS lecturer on astronomical sub
jects, such as "A Trip to the Planets "A
Ride with Comet" Wonders of the Spec
troscope," etc, Mr.. Serviss is unrivaled, and
his own Investigations and work entitle him
to speak with authority Of the latest dis
coveries concerning our planetary system.
He is an old newspaper man, having been
connected with the New York Sun for years,
and can marshal the Queens English in
way to call forth the enthusiasm of the
most case-hardened intellect. In addition to
this he is president of the department of
astronomy in Brooklyn Institute and also
author of Astronomy with an Opera
Glass" ''Solar and Planetary Evolution"
etc.
IF the moon were inhabited and Yerkes
telescope located there" replied Mr.. Servis,
THE blowing up of the Maine in Havana
harbor the other day could easily have been
seen there. The lunar astronomer would
have observed on the dark side of the earth
a flash Of light that would have startled
him, and then he would have noticed it
suddenly disappear. The Maine in day
light would have been visible as a speck.
He would see ocean steamships crossing
the Atlantic, and he would be helped in
recognizing them by their smoke curling
heavenward, for he would be practically
looking at objects only sixty miles away.
1t would be possible for him to observe
hostile fleet approaching our shores, which
would appear like moving specks. And he
could tell by the smoke over New York that
big city was evidently located there. In
deed, he would know when Sunday came
by the absence of smudge.
Imagine yourself suspended sixty miles
above the earth's surface. and you could see.
everything that would be visible to the man
In the moon with the aid of a Yerles tele-
scope. Smoke would appear and disappear,
and the movement of great bodies of troops
could be seen. The bombardment of a city
could easily be distinguished, and also a
battle between two big armies. Moreover,
a naval conflict would not be invisible. for
the astronomer could know what was land
and what was water, and could judge from
the disturbance that something unusual
was stirring at sea-
WHAT COULD BE SEEN FROM VENUS.
NOW, let us take up Venus. This planet,
~l.1J-
object in the heavens and is going to come
within twenty-five million miles of the earth
very shortly. Indeed, it is now beginning
to appear as the evening star. Suppose the
inhabitants of Venus possessed a telescope
of 5000 magnifying power. This would
bring them within a thousand miles of the
earth.
An object one mile in diameter, yes an
object even quarter of a mile in diameter,
would be visible. The people on the planet
by the aid of such telescope would be
able to see a great city or a moderate-szed
town, and recognize the difference between
ocean and land. If fleet of big war ships
steamed across the Atlantic, they probably
would be able to detect a speck crossing
the ocean; and If this feet approached New
York they would see the Hudson river as
q line joining the sea. They would see this
feet, like a speck, pause at the harbor of
New York and would know that it had
approached a special spot on the earths
surface. In case Of war they could dis
tinguish a bombardment of the city at
night, and would see some strange lumin-
ous sights. Whether they would be able
to interpret all that was going on is an
other thing
asked Mr.. Serviss to tell me something
gepardinor the T,rosnaofi1ra discoveries in
tronomy.
I'VE are going to secure some splendid
results. I anticipate, from the new Yerkes
telescope at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. 1t is
the biggest, most perfect, and most power
full instrument of the kind in existence and
is in charge of two of the best astronomers
living, Messrs. Burnham and Barnard. 1
hope the Yerkes Observatory will soon set
tie the vexed questions about Venus and
Mars. Percival Lowell in this country has
been discovering lines like canals on Mars,
which he claims are of artificial origin and
for purposes of irrigation.
He has also been studying Venus, and
confirmed the announcement that the planet
is like the moon, in that it keeps the same
face towards the sun, and does not turn on
its axis In other words. one side is always
daylight and the other side always
night consequently one side IS q blazing
landscape, and the other, frozen desert.
On the former, you have intense sunshine,
because Venus is nearer the sun than the
earth, hence it is hotter, and the sun never
ssts. On the opposite side, there is the ter
rible cold of stellar space.
WHAT IS EXPECTED.
''Now we want to be sure that this is the
actual condition of affairs on the planet,
and 1 think that the Yerkes telescope is
likely to settle this question. Venus is now
beginning to come out as an evening star,
and 1t will soon give the Wisconsin astron-
omsrs chance to make some splendid OBJ
servations, as it is more and more getting
into a position, as regards the sun, whore
IL can be seen to advantage. In a few
months it will be very favorably situated
as regards proximity to the earth. I have
reason to. believe that special observations
win be taken to settle the vexed questions
about Venus, whether the planet turns on
its axis once in twenty-four hours like the
earth, or whether it is liked on its axis.
If the planet is fixed on its axis, such
condition Of things would be incompatible
with life on the earth. Only monstrous be-
ings could exist under such circumstances.