The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-08-18
Venus, NEAREST OF
PLANETS, MAY HAVE
"HUMAN" CREATURES
(Philadelphia Ledeer)

1t Is not easy to account for the fact
that Mars should have gained SO wide
spread popular interest, while little
attention Is bestowed upon the planet
Venus
The latter Is not only our nearest
planetary neighbor, sometimes ap-
preaching within 25,OO0,OOO miles Of US
"a short distance where celestial
spaces are concerned-but she Is re-
ally the earth's twin, her diameter
being only 200 miles less than that of
the terrestrial globe.
Furthermore, whereas it seems
most unlikely that here is any animal
or even plant life on Mars, owing to
intense cold and extreme tenuity of
atmosphere, 1t is altogether probable
that both exist on Venus.
Why not, indeed? The prime and
essential requirement for the mainten-
ance of life is water, and with that
Venus is plentifully supplied. In fact.
she has SO much of 1t that astrono-
mers have never been able to see her
face.
Warmth is Needed.
Another essential, of course, Is
warmth; but Venus, being only seven
tenths as far away from the sun as we
are, receives from that source twice
as much heat as we get. Conditions
on that orb must, therefore, be what
we might term super-tropical. At the
same time, 1t is to be considered
that the thick veil of clouds must af-
ford measure of protection against
the ardent solar rays.
Manifestly Venus has an ample en-
velope of atmosphere, and the masses
of clouds suspended in it unmistaka-
bly, indicate great oceans. They also
suggest plentiful rains, so that one
naturally pictures the continents of
that planet as diversified with numer-
Gus rivers and great lakes.
We know that conditions very SINH
lar to these existed on the earth dur
ing the conforming epoch. There
were then no mammals on our planet
but plenty of strange and monstrous
reptiles, as well as fishes and other
lower forms of life.
1t is at least possible that vege-
table and animal life on Venus at the
present time correspond more or less
to this description. Mars is an aged
and debile planet that has dried UP
and become desert. apparently
Venus, on the other hand, is young
orous maturity when the last human
being on the earth is long dead of
thirst.
Same Face to Sun.
Venus appears to turn always the
same face toward the sun. If this be
true, it must be forever daytime in
one hemisphere, while the other is
shrouded in everlasting night, a
frozen desert.
On Venus there are no changing
seasons. Her axis of rotation is per.
pendicular to the plane of her orbit
instead of being tipped over, like that
of the earth.
There has recently been some talk
about communicating by wireless
with distant stars. The nearest one
is so far away that nine years would
be required to get an answer back, il
1t were replied instanter.
Where the planet Venus is con
cerned, the problem is very different
A radiogram travels $4,000 miles a
second dts velocity being the same as
that of Light. and to cover the dis
lance of 25OO0,OOO miles would not
| take much over two minutes-suppos
ing, that is to say, that an impulse
sufficiently powerful could be given
But. if there are any people or
Venus, they may not have worked GU,
the wireless invention yet Quite
possibly it is too early for them by a
! few millions of years