Venusians
Venusianer (English Venusian ) is a name for fictional inhabitants of the planet Venus . It is the equivalent of the Martians , the hypothetical inhabitants of Mars .
Figurative meaning
"Venusians" are sometimes also referred to as people (especially artists ) who are particularly inspired by beauty - because Venus is a symbol of particular beauty. For example, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his special musical work are counted in this area, but also the ancient poet Lucilius .
Appearance of Venus in the telescope
Venus is the planet from which only a very bright layer of cloud can be seen in the telescope , but it is impenetrable to our eyes . On the other hand, under favorable visibility conditions, it shows the largest disk of all planets (at least up to 62 "or one-thirtieth of the apparent diameter of the sun close to the earth ). Therefore, Venus was the first celestial body besides the moon on which - with the very first telescopes around 1610 - a sickle shape Soon it was also possible to determine the dichotomy (the overlapping of the sickle tips) and use this to estimate the density of the atmosphere .
Speculations on Venus, Mars and the Moon
In past centuries many have astronomers also speculated whether Venus could be inhabited, and sometimes even the word "Venusian" is used. Above all, these considerations were nourished
- of the Earth-like size of the planet (only 5% smaller, while Mars, Mercury and the moon are 50-70% smaller)
- of similar density (5.2 versus 5.5 of the earth)
- of the dense atmosphere and its clouds that cover the planet and were interpreted as water clouds
- and at the same time dampen the temperature .
Changes in the visible surfaces of Mars and the moon have been observed since the 18th century (see, inter alia, Hieronymus Schröter ), which suggested analogies to Venus. When at the end of the 19th century Mars became the focus of attention and was considered a “dying planet” due to the erroneous interpretation of the Martian channels , some stylized Venus as a “younger earth”.
Various media gladly picked up on these thoughts and - also spurred on by the success of technology - created science fiction literature on the subject of extraterrestrial life . In the 1950s and 1960s, the mind games about the evening and morning star extended to possible jungle vegetation and the question of whether there could be dinosaurs there.
Older literature on Venusians
Shortly after Kepler , who predicted the transit of Venus in 1631, individual works appeared in which Venus was described as inhabited.
In 1681, Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle published his book "About the World Inhabitants", in which he depicts the inhabitants of Mercury as hot heads , whereas those of Venus are nourished by air and love .
During the passage of Venus in 1761, the Magdeburg teacher Georg Christoph Silberschlag concluded from a diffuse, bright aura around the planet that its atmosphere must be even denser than expected. He published his thesis on June 13, 1761 in the Magdeburgische Privilegierte Zeitung and in this article laid the foundation for speculations about Venusians who were supposed to live in a paradisiacal landscape. This myth lasted until the middle of the 20th century.
Fictional Venus Inhabitants in Modern Literature
The term Venusian came into use in the English-language media and science fiction literature from around 1950, but has been used less often since around 1965 for the reasons mentioned above. Fictional Venusians included:
- the warlike inhabitants of Venus in the Amtor cycle by Edgar Rice Burroughs
- Mekon , arch enemy of the comic book hero Dan Dare of the 1950s
- the inhabitants of a second garden of Eden in the novella Perelandra by CS Lewis
- The War Veterans in a short story by Philip K. Dick 1955. In addition to fights on Mars and Venus colonies, there are also robot-like beings.
- Between Planets by Robert Heinlein is about various extraterrestrials and the capture of the young Don Harvey , who is kidnapped on the way to his parents on Mars to Venus. A dragon named Isaac Newton eventually frees him.
- In Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon , Venus is covered by oxygen-poor oceans, whose fish-like inhabitants, who live on radioactivity, are exterminated by humans in the course of terraforming; the later human settlers develop into beings capable of flying.
- The science fiction classic Clash by Night by Lawrence O'Donnell (Henry Kuttner) tells of cities under the sea and battles on the surface.
- In 20 Million Miles to Earth , a diver finds an egg that came to Earth from Venus and from which a two-legged reptile hatches.
- Numerous science fiction films and series were also made in the 1950s and 1960s, e. B. Abbott and Costello Go to Mars or Space Patrol , in which Venus women either fight or extremely welcome the (male) astronauts .
- A Venus civilization is also assumed in the British science fiction series Doctor Who . The third doctor masters Venusian aikido or karate , sings Venusian lullabies and has a Venusian pilot license . On Venus itself there are reports of metal lakes and flowers.
- Ben Bova's novella Venus (2000) and In the walls of Eryx are a bit more solid . Ray Harryhausen has a Ymir brought from Venus to Earth.
- Cowboy Bebop is concerned with terraforming Venus ; the planet is arid but habitable. Most of the residents live in floating cities. In Exosquad , Venus is one of three tolerable planets (next to Earth and Mars).
- In the fictional Star Trek universe, Venus is the scene of some actions by the Starfleet Academy.
- Even Arthur C. Clarke mentions the planet briefly in 3001: The Final Odyssey .
- In Yargo of Jacqueline Susann bees, which reach the size of horses living there.
- The mythology of Tolkien's Middle-earth makes Venus the star of Eärendil.
- Some sects assume that Venus is the place of Hell , which belief is supported by its inhospitable temperatures and clouds of sulfur.
- The conspiracy theorist and esotericist Jan Udo Holey claims that Venus, like Mars and Earth, is hollow and populated by Aryans on the inside .
Today's view
In the meantime, several Russian probes have landed on Venus and have exposed it as a sulphurous desert - with temperatures around 470 degrees and a carbon dioxide envelope 92 times denser than the earth's atmosphere. After an hour, the probes failed. Since the flights of these space probes to cloud-shrouded Venus and especially since several successful landings , life on the poisonous hot planet can be largely excluded. Accordingly, the SF literature on this has almost dried up, while z. For example, new films are still being made about Mars today.
This “disenchantment” of the goddess of love did not have an impact in the use of language , but only in space travel . The brightness of the evening and morning stars and the rare transits of Venus (the next is on December 11, 2117) retain their special charm. Some scientists believe it is possible that microscopic life could exist in the upper atmosphere of Venus.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Venus . BBC. Retrieved February 21, 2010.
- ↑ Markus Hammonds: Does Alien Life Thrive in Venus' Mysterious Clouds? discovery, May 16, 2013, accessed October 6, 2014 .
- ↑ Stuart Clark: Acidic clouds of Venus Could harbor life. New Scientist , September 26, 2002, accessed October 6, 2014 .
