Year: 1877

planet is world like our earth, WhereT
people like ourselves might live very
comfortably. For it would not matter


much to US, probably. if the year we're
shortened by four or FIVE months and
the day by half an hour-supposing al
ways that trees and vegetables were so
made that they could thrive under the


change. In fact, if any one leaves the
temperate regions to visit the tropics, he
mas to undergo greater change. For


mere England [where | am writing1 and


throughout the United States. the sea.


sons change from the heat of summer to


the cold of winter, and back again to


the heat of summer. in twelve months


but at the equator. the greatest heat oc-


ours IN spring and autumn, or at inter-


walls of only six months. So far as the


length Of the year is concerned. an


America" or an Englishmau could very


well bear the chanS~ to the ruur-----
zone of Venus, where the interval be-


tween the successive seasons of greatest


heat amounts to seven and half months.


But when we consider some other


points we see that Venus, beautiful tho


she looks, would not be a comfortable


home for u.s. In the first place, We know


that if We draw nearer to fire we can


get more heat from it. Now Venus is


much nearer to the sun-the great fire


of the solar system. than our earth is.


She receives, then, much more heat from


him. In fact it is easily calculated that


if our earth were set travelling on the


path of Venus. we should receive almost


exactly twice as much heat from the sun


as We do at present. This would be un-


heara hln nvonnt .-.>A-hana- in H. 49,


region and even there the summer, with


that tremendous sun above the horizon


all through the twenty four hours, would


be scarcely bearable. Beside. what
contrast between the hot polar summer


and the cold polar winter. when for


weeks together the sun would not be
seen at all. Altogether, this earth would
, be miserable home for US if her path
were as close to the sun as that of Venus.


We see, then, that either there must
be some pecullarities about Venus which


prevent the sun from heating people


there as he would certainly heat US if
t our home were there, or else the crea-
: lures which live on Venus must be diff
0 ferent from ourselves and other animal
: inhabitants of our earth. Unfortunate
e ly. we cannot make telescopes large
e enough to show US what is going on up
e on the planet, and there is no reason for


hoping that such telescopes can ever be
= made What we know. however, about
t the planets condition does not seem to


show that creatures living there would
n be more comfortable than we. should be
r if the earth were put where Venus is
u Just the contrary, so far as We can judge


You know that the seasons on our earth
L are caused by the turns on slanted AK


is. If her axis were upright, there would
L be no seasons if it were more slanted,


the contrast between summer and winter


would be greater. Now Venus has hel
ID axis much more slanted than the earth S
N so that her seasons must be very marked
ut indeed. Thus the heat of her summer


weather must be even more terrible thar
TX We thought just now.


$. But there is yet another point to b


noticed. You know that on the uppe
n, slopes of lofty mountains. there is snov
We all the year round. even in the tori,
Is zone. That is because the air up ther
ou is so rare that it does not act like th
is denser air lower down, which is sor


of clothing for the earth, keeping tn
e, heat from escaping. Now if the air O


Venus were very rare, something of tn
at same sort might happen on that planet
to Just as people who live in torrid zone
Id seek the high mountain slopes in tn
IN hottest seasons of the year, and fin


there temperate climate. so the inhat
re itants of Venus might find it possible
r. bear the suns intense heat if the air {
e. the planet were rare like that above th
ut snow-line in our mountain regions.


But it seems that, on the contrary


the air of Venus is even denser tha


ours. And it seems also to be moi'
at air. which is just the kind of air tia


keeps the heat in most. The air of VI
lat nus is, in fact. so dense and moist tn;
we it must be very uncomfortable to live IL


quite apart from the intense heat; tn;
a is to say. it would be very uncomforti
fa- bic for creatures like ourselves.


ire There cannot be moisture in the a
m of planet unless there are seas al
oceans on the planet surface. M doub
he then, Venus has her continents and b.
ay oceans, her islands and promontorie
zen and inland seas and lakes, very much
i've our earth has. Then there must be ri
i'm ers on the land and currents in Il