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OTHER WORLDS

 

 

BY GARRETT P. SERVISS.

OTHER WORLDS.

Their Nature and Possibilities in the Light of the Latest Discoveries. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, $1.20 net; postage additional.

No science has ever equaled astronomy in its appeal to the imagination, and recently popular interest in the wonders of the starry heavens has been stimulated by surprising discoveries and imaginary discoveries, as well as by a marked tendency of writers of fiction to include other worlds and their possible inhabitants within the field of romance.

Mr. Serviss's new book on "Other Worlds, their Nature and Possibilities in the Light of the Latest Discoveries," summarizes what is known. With helpful illustrations, the most interesting facts about the planets Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, etc., as well as about the nearest of all other worlds, the moon, are presented in a popular manner, and always from the point of view of human interest—a point that is too seldom taken by writers on science.

ASTRONOMY WITH AN OPERA-GLASS.

A Popular Introduction to the Study of the Starry Heavens with the simplest of Optical Instruments. Illustrated. 8vo. Cloth, $1.50.

"By its aid thousands of people who have resigned themselves to the ignorance in which they were left at school, by our wretched system of teaching by the book only, will thank Mr. Serviss for the suggestions he has so well carried out."—New York Times.

PLEASURES OF THE TELESCOPE.

A Descriptive Guide to Amateur Astronomers and All Lovers of the Stars. Illustrated. 8vo. Cloth, $1.50.

"The volume will be found interesting by those for whom it is written, and will inspire many with a love for the study of astronomy, one of the most far-reaching of the sciences."—Milwaukee Journal.

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK.

CHART OF MARS. After Schiaparelli.

CHART OF MARS. After Schiaparelli.

Other Worlds Their Nature, Possibilities and Habitability in the light of the latest discoveries. By GARRETT P. SERVISS Author of "Astronomy with an Opera-glass" and "Pleasures of the Telescope" With Charts and Illustrations

"Shall we measure the councils of heaven by the narrow impotence of human faculties, or conceive that silence and solitude reign throughout the mighty empire of nature?"

Dr. Thomas Chalmers.

New York
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
1901

Copyright, 1901,
By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY. TO
The Memory
OF
WILLIAM JAY YOUMANS. PREFACE

The point of view of this book is human interest in the other worlds around us. It presents the latest discoveries among the planets of the solar system, and shows their bearing upon the question of life in those planets. It points out the resemblances and the differences between the earth and the other worlds that share with it in the light of the sun. It shows what we should see and experience if we could visit those worlds.

While basing itself upon facts, it does not exclude the discussion of interesting probabilities and theories that have commanded wide popular attention. It points out, for instance, what is to be thought of the idea of interplanetary communication. It indicates what must be the outlook of the possible inhabitants of some of the other planets toward the earth. As far as may be, it traces the origin and development of the other worlds of our system, and presents a graphic picture of their present condition as individuals, and of their wonderful contrasts as members of a common family.

In short, the aim of the author has been to show how wide, and how rich, is the field of interest opened to the human mind by man's discoveries concerning worlds, which, though inaccessible to him in a physical sense, offer intellectual conquests of the noblest description.

And, finally, in order to assist those who may wish to recognize for themselves these other worlds in the sky, this book presents a special series of charts to illustrate a method of finding the planets which requires no observatory and no instruments, and only such knowledge of the starry heavens as anybody can easily acquire.

G.P.S.

Borough of Brooklyn, New York City,
September, 1901.

CONTENTS
CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTORY 1

Remarkable popular interest in questions concerning other worlds and their inhabitants—Theories of interplanetary communication—The plurality of worlds in literature—Romances of foreign planets—Scientific interest in the subject—Opposing views based on telescopic and spectroscopic revelations—Changes of opinion—Desirability of a popular presentation of the latest facts—The natural tendency to regard other planets as habitable—Some of the conditions and limitations of the problem—The solar system viewed from outer space—The resemblances and contrasts of its various planets—Three planetary groups recognized—The family character of the solar system

CHAPTER II

MERCURY, A WORLD OF TWO FACES AND MANY CONTRASTS 18

Grotesqueness of Mercury considered as a world—Its dimensions, mass, and movements—The question of an atmosphere—Mercury's visibility from the earth—Its eccentric orbit, and rapid changes of distance from the sun—Momentous consequences of these peculiarities—A virtual fall of fourteen million miles toward the sun in six weeks—The tremendous heat poured upon Mercury and its great variations—The little planet's singular manner of rotation on its axis—Schiaparelli's astonishing discovery—A day side and a night side—Interesting effects of libration—The heavens as viewed from Mercury—Can it support life?

CHAPTER III

VENUS, THE TWIN OF THE EARTH 46

A planet that matches ours in size—Its beauty in the sky—Remarkable circularity of its orbit—Probable absence of seasons and stable conditions of temperature and weather on Venus—Its dense and abundant atmosphere—Seeing the atmosphere of Venus from the earth—Is the real face of the planet hidden under an atmospheric veil?—Conditions of habitability—All planetary life need not be of the terrestrial type—The limit fixed by destructive temperature—Importance of air and water in the problem—Reasons why Venus may be a more agreeable abode than the earth—Splendor of our globe as seen from Venus—What astronomers on Venus might learn about the earth—A serious question raised—Does Venus, like Mercury, rotate but once in the course of a revolution about the sun?—Reasons for and against that view

CHAPTER IV

MARS, A WORLD MORE ADVANCED THAN OURS 85

Resemblances between Mars and the earth—Its seasons and its white polar caps—Peculiar surface markings—Schiaparelli's discovery of the canals—His description of their appearance and of their duplication—Influence of the seasons on the aspect of the canals—What are the canals?—Mr. Lowell's observations—The theory of irrigation—How the inhabitants of Mars are supposed to have taken advantage of the annual accession of water supplied by the melting of the polar caps—Wonderful details shown in charts of Mars—Curious effects that may follow from the small force of gravity on Mars—Imaginary giants—Reasons for thinking that Mars may be, in an evolutionary sense, older than the earth—Speculations about interplanetary signals from Mars, and their origin—Mars's atmosphere—The question of water—The problem of temperature—Eccentricities of Mars's moons

CHAPTER V

THE ASTEROIDS, A FAMILY OF DWARF WORLDS 129

Only four asteroids large enough to be measured—Remarkable differences in their brightness irrespective of size—Their widely scattered and intermixed orbits—Eccentric orbit of Eros—the nearest celestial body to the earth except the moon—Its existence recorded by photography before it was discovered—Its great and rapid fluctuations in light, and the curious hypotheses based upon them—Is it a fragment of an exploded planet?—The startling theory of Olbers as to the origin of the asteroids revived—Curious results of the slight force of gravity on an asteroid—An imaginary visit to a world only twelve miles in diameter

CHAPTER VI

JUPITER, THE GREATEST OF KNOWN WORLDS 160

Jupiter compared with our globe—His swift rotation on his axis—Remarkable lack of density—The force of gravity on Jupiter—Wonderful clouds—Strange phenomena of the great belts—Brilliant display of colors—The great red spot and the many theories it has given rise to—Curious facts about the varying rates of rotation of the huge planet's surface—The theory of a hidden world in Jupiter—When Jupiter was a companion star to the sun—The miracle of world-making before our eyes—Are Jupiter's satellites habitable?—Magnificent spectacles in the Jovian system

CHAPTER VII

SATURN, A PRODIGY AMONG PLANETS 185

The wonder of the great rings—Saturn's great distance and long year—The least dense of all the planets—It would float in water—What kind of a world is it?—Sir Humphry Davy's imaginary inhabitants of Saturn—Facts about the rings, which are a phenomenon unparalleled in the visible universe—The surprising nature of the rings, as revealed by mathematics and the spectroscope—The question of their origin and ultimate fate—Dr. Dick's idea of their habitability—Swedenborg's curious description of the appearance of the rings from Saturn—Is Saturn a globe of vapor, or of dust?—The nine satellites and "Roche's limit"—The play of spectacular shadows in the Saturnian system—Uranus and Neptune—Is there a yet undiscovered planet greater than Jupiter?

CHAPTER VIII

THE MOON, CHILD OF THE EARTH AND THE SUN 212

The moon a favorite subject for intellectual speculation—Its nearness to the earth graphically illustrated—Ideas of the ancients—Galileo's discoveries—What first raised a serious question as to its habitability—Singularity of the moon's motions—Appearance of its surface to the naked eye and with the telescope—The "seas" and the wonderful mountains and craters—A terrible abyss described—Tycho's mysterious rays—Difference between lunar and terrestrial volcanoes—Mountain-ringed valleys—Gigantic cracks in the lunar globe—Slight force of gravity of the moon and some interesting deductions—The moon a world of giantism—What kind of atmospheric gases can the moon contain—The question of water and of former oceans—The great volcanic cataclysm in the moon's history—Evidence of volcanic and other changes now occurring—Is there vegetation on the moon?—Lunar day and night—The earth as seen from the moon—Discoveries yet to be made

CHAPTER IX

HOW TO FIND THE PLANETS 256

It is easy to make acquaintance with the planets and to follow them among the stars—The first step a knowledge of the constellations—How this is to be acquired—How to use the Nautical Almanac in connection with the charts in this book—The visibility of Mercury and Venus—The oppositions of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn

INDEX 277

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE Chart of Mars Frontispiece Diagram showing causes of day and night on portions of Mercury 35 Regions of day and night on Mercury 38 Venus's atmosphere seen as a ring of light 56 View of Jupiter facing 168 Three views of Saturn facing 186 Diagram showing the moon's path through space 217 The lunar Alps, Apennines, and Caucasus facing 222 The moon at first and last quarter facing 226 Phases and rotation of the moon 250 Charts showing the zodiacal constellations: 1. From right ascension 0 hours to 4 hours 259 2. " " 4 " " 8 " 261 3. " " 8 " " 12 " 263 4. " " 12 " " 16 " 265 5. " " 16 " " 20 " 267 6. " " 20 " " 24 " 269

[Pg 1]

OTHER WORLDS CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY

Other worlds and their inhabitants are remarkably popular subjects of speculation at the present time. Every day we hear people asking one another if it is true that we shall soon be able to communicate with some of the far-off globes, such as Mars, that circle in company with our earth about the sun. One of the masters of practical electrical science in our time has suggested that the principle of wireless telegraphy may be extended to the transmission of messages across space from planet to planet. The existence of intelligent inhabitants in some of the other planets has become, with many, a matter of conviction, and for everybody[Pg 2] it presents a question of fascinating

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