IS THERE MORE THAN ONE INHABITED WORLD?

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4194, 29 August 1874, Page 3

IS THERE MORE THAN ONE INHABITED WORLD?

(From the Melbourne Leader) Are there other inhabited worlds than ours ? has always been an interesting question. Many of the planets are larger, have a grander attendance of satellites, or receive a considerable amount more light than does the earth ; and at first sight it appears only reasonable to conclude that these orbs also are the abodes of sentient beings such as we are. In some cases too the planets of certain stellar systems, if these systems have planets, must be lit up by two or more suns, and these suns being occasionally of various colors the effect of the light so received must be unparalleled upon any of the worlds revolving around our own solar orb. It seems strange, therefore, that the theatres: of such phenomena should remain as deserts unpeopled by any creatures capable of appreciating and admiring the wonders witnessed. Science, however, is more exigent than is the mere poetic temperament, and science of late years has pressed- into its service so many new means of investigation that our present knowledge of the physical condition of the planets, even of the stars, amounts, in some respects, almost to a certainty. In many instances our new discoveries tend to show that our earth and the planets consist of the same chemical elements, are operated upon by the same physical forces, and are subject to the same chemical laws ; whilst the information as to the actual condition of nearly every planet in the system, save our own, seems to be such as would at once be fatal to the existence of organic life upon its surface. This matter has lately been reconsidered by the eminent French astronomer, M. Faye, who, of course, is enlightened by a consideration of all the newer facts of his science, as elucidated by improved telescopes and that wonderful instrument the spectroscope besides. The conclusion of this savant is that the circumstances of the great majority of celestial bodies are in the highest degree unfavorable to the idea of such bodies being the abode of life. To develope tho latent life in any given germ, it is urged, the surrounding temperature must not exceed 140°, Fahrenheit, nor fall'below the freezing point of water. Even on the earth there are regions'where life seems to be almost excluded, where these narrow limits are exceeded or approached. These conditions of temperature exclude, of course, all bodies shining by their own light, or every stax % save tho planets. The conditions necessary to, support life are a cold, circulating around a heated, globe. Nor is this all, for the heat given out must be continuous, and not intermittent. A star such as that found in the Whale, which alternately waxes and wanes, or one like that observed some time since in the Northern Crown,which, for months, blazed forth as bright as Sirius, and then became almost invisible, would prove worse than a pestilence to any world in its immediate vicinity. Of the planets of our- own system, Uranus, other things being equal, could scarcely maintain life upon its surface, since of its two hemispheres, each is exposed to full sunlight and then veiled in complete darkness during forty years of each revolution. Venus, from tho great declination of its axis, would be subject to similar variations of eclipse and. sunshine. The moon, by her slow revolution, once in twenty-eight days, would be alternately burnt up and then frozen; and Saturn, its opaque ring hiding the sun for years’ at a time, would

prove a dwelling-place exceedingly uncomfortable. Granting that the physical conditions are favorable, the suitability or unsuitability of the atmospheric envelope would prove a serious matter. Mere permanent gases, such as our own air in its pure state, woujd not meet all the desiderata. Water must exist in a state of vapor, or the atmosphere could not fulfil its functions. Water, too, must exist in such quantities neither more- nor less than that it may be gathered into lakes and seas, and not cover the entire globe. This cannot obtain on Saturn, as the density of that planet is less than that of the fluid specified ; in such a case the substance of the planet would float upon the seas, and not the seas lie embosomed in hollows of the planet. It is questionable also whether the atmospheres of other planets’ are not poor in oxygen or totally free from it. The recent discoveries of the spectroscope, it is contended, only go to show that the necessary conditions of life, with respect to the planets, are encompassed by still closer limits than formerly supposed. We are barely able to cite two planets of our system, other than our earth, where such conditions have any shadow of probability of existing ; while on the only globe of which*we can speak with certainty, the moon, we know them to be utterly absent.