The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-01-22

The most beautiful Planet. and the one
that comes nearest 10 the earth, ard most
Resembles the earth In size. Is AT the same
time the most mysterious II Venus a Hv-
irg warid or dead ogse7 That ss so sag.
~ IL In condition 10 support inhabitants,
and in u probable that such inhabitants
are there. or, on the other hand Is IL un-
suited for their presence and barren OF
living forms9
These Questions astronomers at present
are unable to answer but their efforts to
answer them and the observations that
they have made OF the mysterious planet
possess an almost startling interest.
FIRST LEI la briefly recall what Venus IL.
IL II q globe like our earth, and Of very
nearly the same magnitude. having d.
ameter Of about 100 miles, while that Of
the earth is a little rnore than 1850 miles
so nearly Of the same size are the two
planets that IL We could view them from
an equal distance we should be unable
without the aid Of instruments OF measure
ment, 10 detect any difference between
them. The substance OF Venus Ia slightly
lighter, bulk for bulk, than that which
composa@ the earth: but the difference in
this respect II 40 little that again IL 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. II follows that on Venus the
force OF gravitation or the weight Of bod
les does not greatly differ from that on the
earth. II We could step upon Venus we
should flnd that we had parted with q few
pounds weight, but the difference would
not be very noticeable. except perhaps on
the race-traek.
But this planet. SO like the earth In
many respects. In very different from our
globe In Its situation The earth's distance
from the sun Is s3.ooo.0lo miles: the dis
fance OF Vegtus from the sun Ia g. go 90
miles. This difference becomes a matter
OF great Importance when we consider the
effects which the sun produces upon the
two planets Heat and light as everybody
knows. vary intensely as the square OF the
dtsfance. When We compare the square
of the earth's distance from the min with
the square OF Eessus's distance. We find
that the former Is about double that Of thu
latter. This means that Venus. on the
Averages. gets twice a. much heat and
light from the sun az the earth gets.
But. on the other hand, we know tha. al
forms of life depend for their existence
upon the radiant energy of the sun. On
the earth when we pass from the arctic
regions toward the equator. we find the
number OF living forms and the variety
and Intensity Of manifestations Of life con-
tinunlly increasing. until. In the equatorial
zone, earth sea and air are al crowded
with animate and growing things. The
Apu'S va Abr sfia ettf y eEstt p4bthIss Htrs
and In the absence OF sunshine IL death.
II Is but natural to infer that Venus, hav-
Ing twice as much sunshine as the earth,
should he proportionaiiy more crowded
with animal and vegetable inhabitants
and that the intensity Of life there should
he c0rrespondingiy greater. Some geoIo-
gists have thought that there was q time
when tho climate of tho earth was 50 hot
that tropical plants and beasts lived abun-
dainty around the poles. A similar contii-
ton ef things might be supposed now 10
prevail upon Venus.-Harper's Round
Table.