The Planet Venus and Its Problems

BY WILLIAM H. PICKERING
University Professor of Astronomy, Harvard

HIS planet, which is at times very conspicuous in our evening skies, is, after the Moon, the brightest member of the solar system, and is frequently visible in the daytime, if we know just where to look for it. It reaches its greatest evening brilliancy once every year and a half, and is then capable of casting a very distinct shadow upon any whitened surface. Since it revolves in an orbit between the Earth and the Sun, it apparently never recedes very far from the latter body, the maximum distance being about 45. This fact, together with its great brilliancy, will assist us in recognizing it, since in the evening it never appears anywhere but in the west, and in the morning only in the east. Its evening appearance was known to the ancients by the name of Hesperus, and its morning appearance as Phosphorus, which leads us to believe that before the birth of exact astronomy it was supposed that two distinct bodies were involved. This same mistake has been made several times in the past with regard to brilliant comets. Venus presents phases like the Moon, but they are not. visible to the naked eye, although they may be inspected under favorable circumstances with the aid of a goon opera-glass. Although it comes nearer to the Earth than any other planet, yet but little is known of its physical characteristics-less, in fact, than of either Mercury, .Mars, Jupiter, or Saturn. Indeed, we may say that but four facts are really known with regard to it. First, its diameter is but two hundred miles less than that of the Earth. Second, its mass is about fourfifths as great. The weight of a body upon its surface would therefore be flvesixths of its weight here. This is of importance, since it is one of the fundamental conditions affecting the exist-

ence of its oceans and atmosphcre. Third, the surface presents a uniform brightness or albedo of 0.76. That is to say, it reflects three-quarters of all the light which falls upon it. White paper reflects seventy-eight per cent., and snow a trifle more. The fourth fact that we know regarding Venus is that it possesses a very dense atmosphere-much denser, in fact, than that of the Earth. When the planet lies nearly between us and the Sun, it presents the appearance of a narrow crescent, similar to that of the .Mcon. Unlike the Moon, however, the horns of the crescent are greatly prolonged, somewhat like those of the crescent upon tl;1e Turkish flag. Indeed, the horns have sometimes been seen to unite, so as to form a complete circle. This lengthening of the horns is due to the atmosphere of Venus, which so refracts the rays of the Sun as to illuminate considerably more than one-half of the surface of the planet at the same time. The same effect occurs in the case of the Earth, but to a less extent. By measurements of the length of the horns, the density of the atmosphere can be computed. Careful measurements made at Arequipa, under unusually favorable circumstances in 1892, indicate that the atmosphere of the planet is at least three times as dense as our own. A few of the earlier astronomers have stated that Venus sometimes presents the same appearance that in the case of the Moon we call "the new moon in the old moon's arms." Upon the Moon the phenomenon is due to the close proximity of our Earth, whose brightly lighted surface lightens up the dark side of our satellite. The Earth is so remote from Yen us, however, that this explanation is not applicable in this case. Various improbable hypotheses have been offered to explain it, such as

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a uniformly distributed aurora, or 'a phosphorescent atmosphere. The true explanation probably is that the supposed observation is only an illusion, due to the above-mentioned union of the horns of the crescent. This union once established, it would be impossible for an observer to tell whether the region inside the horns was brighter or darker than that outside of them. Some of the earlier observers also furnished Venus with a satellite. This also was a mistake, since no such body has been detected by the far more powerful instruments of modern times. Indeed, the amount of misinformation about fundamental facts that has been promulgated by various astronomers about this, . the nearest of the planets, probably exceeds in quantity that furnished about any other member of the solar system. Some of the statements which cannot yet be considered as settled are as follows: The planet revolves on its axis once in about twenty-three hours. A theory conflicting with this is that the planet always presents the same face to the Sun. Its axis of rotation lies within thirty-seven degrees of the plane of its orbit. The southern horn is blunted, presumably b;y a high mountain, once every twenty-three hours. The poles are marked by bright patches of snow. Recognizable markings can be detected upon its surface. The shorter period of rotation was determined by D. Cassini, Schroeter, and De Vico, the longer by Schiaparelli, Lowell, and others. Belopolski confirmed the former by means of the spectroscope. Lowell confirmed his own visual observations of the longer period by the same means. Lowell had the better instruments, but his result seems less plausible than the other. No attempt to confirm either result has been made at any other observatory. De Vico's determination of the inclination of the axis has never been confirmed. The blunting of the southern horn. the appearance of snow caps and of surface markings, were looked for very carefully under the most favora ble circumstances at Arequipa, hut without success. Perhaps the strongest argument in favor of the long day is that no flattening of the planet's disk has ever been

detected at the times when it transited the Sun. If the period of rotation was twenty-three hours and the planet had the most favorable possible position, the flattening at the poles should amount to 0.2". Although no such flattening has been detected, yet perhaps the planet did not have the most favorable position, for the polar axis may have been turned partly toward us at the times of transit. If the planet has the long day claimed by Schiaparelli and Lowell, always presenting the same face to the Sun, then that face would be a fiery waterless desert, while the other hemisphere would be buried under a covering of perpetual ice. In the desert region there could be no moisture, except in the form possibly of a transparent gas. There could therefore be no haze, no clouds. We should see the surface of the planet through an atmosphere clearer than that of any terrestrial desert. But even through a hundred miles of our desert air the mountains stand out clearly, showing perfectly the difference in tint and brightness between the rocks of which they are composed and the snow upon their summits. Such then should be the case upon Venus. If such surface markings exist, few astronomers have been able to detect them, and then only as the most evanescent markings, upon which no two observers could agree. Moreover, as we have already seen, the albedo of the planet is 0.76, or practically the brightness of white paper. If we are looking down upon a desert, we must see one whose brightness is that of white quartz, or crystals of salt. Possibly the latter may be the fact, but to the writer, and to astronomers generally, the more plausible explanation is that we are looking upon a planet covered by a uniform layer of cloud. In such a case no surface markings and no polar caps could be visible. To maintain the clouds the planet must revolve upon its axis in a period not very greatly exceeding that of au)' terrestrial day. In the earlier geological ages we are told that our Earth was completely enveloped in cloud. This resemblance of Venus to our own planet is confirmed by the belief generally held among astronomers that Venus is a younger planet than the Earth.

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:MONTHLY :MAGAZINE where a liquid surface surrounded by a uniform layer of cloud. That a shoreless ocean should support both animal and vegetable life is perfectly possible. We cannot conceive, however, that such life should ever attain a very high degree of intelligence, and in reflecting upon our own lot we may conclude that perhaps we have reason to be grateful to the Moon for more than the mere aid it gives us at present in lifting our great steamships over the harbor bars of the world.

Had our Earth not gi ven birth to the Moon, it is probable that our continental plateaus would have been but little elevated above the sea bottoms. Indeed, the comparatively level surface would have been not unlike that presented to our gaze by the planet Mars, 'When the Moon was born, we lost possibly the greater part of our oceans. If so, and if similar oceans exist now upon Vcnus, we may imagine that no portion of the planet's surface rises above the level of the sea; that, in short, it presents every-

The Call
BY ALAN SULLIVAN
again, my TURN ye my palace people, turn; Enter wild and rude, And cheerly let your camp-fires burn Throughout my scented solitude. The glare, the tumult, and the stress Are gone with yesterday, and we Are children of the wilderness, Of wonder and of mystery. Mark how the tilted mountains lie Mantled with moss and cloistered fir. ]\:[ybrother, canst thou pass them by, Art thou not too a worshipper? The long lake wrinkling in the wind, The breathless wood, find, over all, Through tangled underbrush entwined The riot of a waterfall, The multitudinous sounds that blend In one vast stillness void of sound, A slumber too divine to end, Interminable and profound. Olose to the bosom undefiled Of her who bore mankind I press, Receiving like a wandering child, Her inarticulate caress. Turn ye again, my people, turn, Enter my palace wild and rude, And cheerly let your camp-fires burn Throughout my scented solitude.