The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-01-19
VENUS AND IT'S MYSTERIES.

The most beautiful planet, and the
one that comes nearest to the earth,
and most resembles the earth in size,
is at the same time the most mysteri-
GUS Is Venus living world or dead
one? That is to say, is it in a condition
to support inhabitants, and is it proba-
bic that such inhabitants are there, or
ON the other hand, is il unsuited for
their presence and barren of living
forms?
Ihese questions astronomers at pres
ent are unable to answer, but their eff
forts to answer them and the observa-
tons that they have made of the nv
sterious planet possess an almost start
ling interest.
FIRST let us briefly recall what Venus
is. 1t is a globe like our earth and of
very nearly the same magnitude, hav-
ing a diameter of about 7,70O miles.
While that of the earth is little more
than 1900 miles. So nearly of the same
SIZE are the two planets that if we
could view them from an equal dis
lance we should be unable, without the
aid of instruments of measurement, to
detect any difference between them.
The substance of Venus is slightly
lighter, bulk for bulk, than that which
composes the earth; but the difference
In this respect is so little that again it
would require special examination to
distinguish by weight between a cubic
foot of the soil of Venus and an equal
amount of the soil Of the earth. 1t fol-
lows that on Venus the force of gravi-
tation or the weight of bodies does not
greatly differ from that on the earth.
If we could step upon Venus we should
find that we had parted with a few
pounds of weight, but the difference
would not be very noticeable, except
perhaps on the race track.
But this planet, so like the earth in
many respects, is very different from
our globe in it's situation. The earth's
distance from the sun Is 100000
miles; the distance of Venus
from the sun is 67,000,OO0 mil
es. This difference becomes a
matter of great Importance when we
consider the effects which the sun pro-
duces upon the two planets. Heat and
light, as everybody knows, vary in
versely as the square of the distance.
When we compare the square of the
earth's distance from the sun with the
square Of Venus distance, we find that
the former is about double the latter
This means that Venus, on the average.
gets twice as much heat and light from
the sun as the earth gets.
But on the other hand, we know that
all forms Of life depend for their exist
ence upon the radiant energy Of the
sun. On the earth, when we pass from
the artic regions towards the equator,
we find the number Of living forms and
the variety and Intensity of the raani-
festations of life continually increasing,
until, in the equatorial zone, earth, sea-
and air are all crowded with animate
and growing things. The touch of the
sun everywhere produces life, and in
the absence of sunshine is death. 1t Is
but natural to infer that Venus, having
twice as much sunshine as the EARTH
should be proportionately more crowd
ed with animtS and vegetable inhabi-
tants, and that the intensity of life
there should be correspondingly great
er. Some biologists have thought that
there was a time when the climate OF
the earth was so hot that tropical
plants and beasts lived abundantly
around the poles. A similar condition of
things might be supposed now to pre-
vail upon Venus.-Harper's Round
Table.