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speculated asto why the Venusian
atmosphere is so utterly unlike the
earth's. One suggested cause is its
lesser distance from the sun. Dr.
Michael Hart of the Systems and
Applied Sciences Corporation in
Maryland made this astute obser–
vation. "Were our planet five per–
cent ctoser to the sun , it would be
a pressure cooker like Venus "
(The Christian Science Moni–
tor).
But we are neither the victims of
an overheated pressure cooker like
that of Venus or cold waste like
Mars. The earth's orbit is in just
the r ight relationship for the sus–
tenance of physical life.
Venus is too hot ; the earth is just
right; Mars is too cold.
The Red Plane t
Mars comes within 35 million
mi les of the earth, but it is farther
away from the sun than we are. Its
atmosphere is far too thin to sustain
life as we know it even if it con–
tained the correct atmospheric ele–
ments, which it doesn't. Like
Venus, Mars' atmosphere is made
up of far too much carbon dioxide,
distinctly forbidding any organic
life. Again there is little or no oxy–
gen to breathe. And water is a
scarce commodity. The polar caps
are composed mainly of dry ice or
frozen carbon dioxide. Tempera–
tures at the equator range from
+
82.4°F in the daytime to -48° F
at night.
Life on Mars? The atmospheric
conditions are far too hostile. Lis–
ten to the assessment of famous
French astronomer, Gerard de
Vaucouleurs: "Take a desert on
earth, shift it to the polar regions,
and lift it to stratospheric level–
that's what it is like on Mars."
Only the earth satisfies all the
complex conditions necessary for
physical life in this solar system.
The realism of the cosmos demands
the conclusion that man's environ–
ment was designed and planned for
him.
If
we are at all sensitive to the
un iverse a round us, we cannot
ignore the fact that organic life is
not the result of freak chance
spawned from mindless matter.
lt
is the unique creation of a greater
intell igence than man's.
The Outer Plane ts
Astronomers divide the nine known
planets in our solar system into the
inner planets and the outer planets.
The earth, Venus, Mars and Mer–
cu ry constitute the four majar
planetary bodies closest to our
sun- hence the name, the inner
planets. (Mercury, though nearest
to the sun of all the planets, is omit–
ted from consideration here as an
abode for life since its atmosphere
is virtually nonexistent.)
There is a giant gap in our solar
system between Mars and what are
known as the outer planets. The
nearest outer planet beyond Mars is
Jupiter- a gargantuan spacebody
about 1
O
times the diameter of the
earth. From Jupiter on outward,
the gaps get ever wider (see accom–
panying planetary table). Undis–
covered until 1930, Pluto is so
small it can hardly be seen in its
distant orbit.
Astronauts or cosmonauts would
have great difficulty landing on
Jupiter since its visible surface is
composed entirely of gas. There is
no evidence that this giant among
planets has any salid surface at all.
lnterestingly enough Saturn, Ura–
nus and Neptune also have gaseous
surfaces and there is serious doubt