I pointed out in a recent post that Egyptians migrated to Mercury in wooden (or papyrus) sailing ships a long time ago. I said that they only managed to survive on this very hot planet by migrating as the globe spun along with the native animal species. Migration aside there is another reason that ancient Egyptians were able to survive on this hot little rock: the orbital dust clouds.
New scientific studies now project that there used to be large clouds of very fine powder scattered around Venus and Mercury. I’m not exactly sure what kept them there: perhaps the polar charge of the ether orbits. Whatever the case, these dust clouds orbited several hundred miles from the planets’ surfaces, far beyond the reach of any significant atmosphere. Thus, these particles shielded the planets from the suns rays, while at the same time allowing heat to escape to the edge of space. This, along with the fact that both planets used to have oxygen/nitrogen atmospheres (and plenty of water and native plants and animals) explains how the ancients were able to survive.
The average surface temperature of Mercury, as recorded by Egyptian scientists around 100 BC was still very hot, but within liveable ranges. During the heat of the day at the equator, it could hit as high as 190-200 F. At night-time it would drop to 70-80 below. Remember, that each day lasted a very long time, so the Egyptians would migrate from the hottest spots ahead of time. Most of the planet was much more hospitable. At any given moment in time, two thirds of the planet’s surface would be between -20 F to 110 F, well within liveable ranges for human beings.
Venus was even better. The Babylonians and Assyrians there never had to migrate for weather concerns. The atmosphere at that time was not as thick as it is now. Average daytime temperatures ranged from 70 at the poles to 135 at the equator. Night time temperatures ran from just above freezing to about 100 degrees.
The return of the muse is not a news source. This post relates to the imaginary universe of the SkyPath Crusade.
The entire SkyPath Crusade is posted at http://skypathcrusade.wordpress.com Only go there if you feel like reading a book-length epic poem.
Otherwise, just keep browsing this website. Or: I just started rewriting the epic poem in prose as a serial novel. You can read the first post at http://returnofthemuse.wordpress.com/2008/03/22/space-crusaders-1-a-serial-novel-about-romans-in-outerspace/
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