Astronomical Information. From Punch's Almanack for 1897. Mercury
Anon
Genre: | Regular Feature, Notes, Drollery |
Subjects: | Astronomy, Exploration, Military Technology, Futurism, Geology, Extra-Terrestrial Life |
Describes how in 1882, a 'Mr Acta Airy, son of George B Airy, travelled to Mercury in a shell discharged from an Armstrong gun, and found that the planet is not 'exceedingly hot' as expected, but is a 'lump of green ice', which escapes solar rays and is inhabited by owls who speak 'a language reminiscent of Welsh'. | |
© Science in the Nineteenth-Century Periodical Project, Universities of Leeds and Sheffield, 2005 - 2020
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