Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1860-1862, 1860-07-26
Recent Lunar discoveries.

IL Is only very recently that the empirical
notion so persi>tently maintained by certain
astronomers, of the utterly lifeless wa-te OF
the moons surface, has heeu exploded. The
way this idea got prevalence was in denying
the existence of an atmosphere around the
moon. state of things that would OF nects-
sliy exclndt the existence of water and Or
ganic life from orr satellite. This theory l.
10 the further denial of heat in The lunar rays.
from which flowed multitude of errors.
But Knox and Melvin have proved by eX-
act observations, that there is heat IN moon-
shine. and Zantedeschi has measured 1t IN liz
effects upon the mimosa, while an English
scholar has demonstrated that the earth IL
colder In the first quarter of the moon than In
It's second. Again. moonshine eXerts Won
derful Influence on plants. Light eiiabies
them to absorb carbon from the carbonic acid
gas of the atmosphere, and this Is thtir daily
work. They sleep at night, except when the
moonlight Wakes hem up and s. IS them TO
work again. So the farmer is right when he
soWs his seed just before the full of the moon,
for the plants come up about the time of The
new moon. and pass their infancy under the
dark nights; but when the full moon comes,
it's light sets them t. work. and the proc IS
of growing is continued night and day. while
the contrary cOur~e is Injurious to the tender
plant which requires SIZE p.
The sailors saw that the moon eats up the
clouds. and Whewell aud Ql.telet have
proved the truth OF the observation. hy show
ing that more rain falls in the dark of he
moon than in its second and third quarters
Webb has shown by careful comparison
of the present appearance of the nouns sur
face with that made by Maedler twenty years
ago. that it has undergone great Changes
Several of The minor craters have assumed
different shapes. These changes Indicate the
existence of air and water. Secchi has de-
monstrated that the peaks of the highest
mountains of the moon are covered with
snow. De la Rive has discovered that what
used to be regarded as barren plains are ev-
tensive forests. Schwabe. the discover of the
periodic times of the SUMS spots, sustains this
discovery OF De la Rives. He turned his in
vestigations to the sinuous burrows or wrin-
kles, numbering 100 or more, the nature OF
which had not even been guess d at They
are from three to thirly-fve miles long, and
animation, he found to consist of trees. leaf
less at one season and in full foliage at an
other, for the changes in their appearance are
periodic. Hence another proof OF atmosphere
and water, and all the phenomena incident TO
the existence of these elements.
The photography of the moons surface,
now going on in the American aad European
observatores, and the special attention paid
to the study of the lunar surface, by some of
the day, cannot fail to result in more wonder
ful discoveries than those which we have just
noticed. We have no doubt the mass of mat
ter of which the moon is made will be found
to be of the same character as that of The
earth, and subject TO similar laws of existence,
and that the surface will be found TO he ca
pable of sustaining organic life.