midnight before
The belief of Martial astronomers is that Jupiter is not by any means so much less dense than the minor planets as his proportionately lesser weight would imply . They hold that his visible surface is that of an enormously deep atmosphere , within which lies , they suppose , a central ball , not merely hot but more than white hot , and probably , from its temperature , not yet possessing a solid crust . One writer argues that , since all worlds must by analogy be supposed to be inhabited , and since the satellites of Jupiter more resemble worlds than the planet itself , which may be regarded as a kind of secondary sun , it is not improbable that the former are the scenes of life as varied as that of Mars itself ; and that infinite ages hence , when these have become too cold for habitation , their giant primary may have gone through those processes which , according to the received theory , have fitted the interior planets to be the home of plants , animals , and , in two cases at least , of human beings . It was near midnight before the manifest fatigue of the ladies overcame my selfish desire to prolong as much as possible this most interesting visit . Meteorological science in Mars has been carried to high perfection ; and the director warned me that but three or four equally favourable opportunities might offer in the course of the next half year . Time passed on , marked by no very important incident , while I made acquaintance with manners and with men around me , neither one nor the other worth further description . Nothing occurred to confirm the alarms Davilo constantly repeated .