Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1880-07-28
The Mountains of the Moon,
AND TIE OTHER WONDERS REVEALED IN
OUR SATELLITE BY THE TELESCOPE.

AND TIE OTHER WONDERS REVEALED IN
OUR SATELLITE BY THE TELESCOPE.
When one looks at the moon through a
powerful telescope furnished with prism
eyepiece, he seems TO be suspended in mid
air and looking down upon the lunar
plains and mountains from an enormous
height. The falling away of the surface
towarl the edges of the great ball some
times produces the sensation that is expe-
rienced in standing on the brink of giddy
precipice. If the magnyfying power used
is five hundred dameters, the effect is
about the same as if the observer were in
a balloon five hundred miles above the
surface of the moon. Below him lie
mountains greater than Mont Blanc and
Chmborazo, looking no larger than peb-
bles Ancient sea bottoms are spread be-
meath him like smooth floors, dotted hero
and there with elevations that may once
have been islands, and surrounded BY
table lands. plains and mountain chains
that show where the old seacoast was fiat
ana marshy, where it was full of harbors,
and where it was iron bound and perilous.
Great naked plains stretch out in various
directions rs smooth rs our prairies and in
other places there are reaches of hilly
country, and then tremendous mountain
masses. The great Typographical features
remain, as in the days when the moon
was young and full of life like the earth;
but the coasts are silent as the mountain
peaks, the seas are empty, the fruitful soil
is gone, all that ancient, teeming life has
vanished, and the whole land is void of
air. 1t is only the rocky skeleton of dead
world, and picture of what our earth
will be hundreds of millions of years
hence.
With n good three-inch telescope, and
little practice in the management of the
magnifying powers, one may easily see all
the famous mountains of the moon, and
most of the strange looking objects that
have at different times been taken for
Notifications, roads, and other works of
man. There are u number of excellent
maps of the moon, by whose aid every
conspicuous object may be recognized.
The point of greatest interest to the OBJ
server is the long, Jagged line, called the
terminator, that marks the sharp division
between day AMI night. If you watch
that line for an hour Or two, you will be
astonished at tie changes that have taken
place under your eye. You will see the
sunshine creeping down the steep inner
side of a ringed mountain, until the floor
of the vast basin. which h,d befnre heen
perfectly black, looking like II hole right
ihronrh ,be moon ia ro.chol and l;oh1aJ
m villa the rocky Aanks NJ the centr.i
neal, or cluster of ne,ks coma into y;aw
and bnqin IN cast Ionp snirv ehadowsover
thn cr,fer door A loftv monntoin whose
summit oilded bv the Sunlight has heen
visible far nm hour shinin1 ont of the
dense ohscuritv that covers tho rao;ona
about il which is vet steeneJ in nioht like
a little island lvino off sunny coast
GRADUALLY swings info view and The line
Of sunshine oocs svveenino nm its cr.ogy
sides chasing tho shadows and reveaI;ng
rocky snirns and nrnrinitons goroas deenas
than the v.lInv of tho Mar ds CIaoo
The vost J.,rk nIaina which were farm
orlv snnnosed to be reaI seas but in wh;cb
modern astronomers see onlv the bottoms
of eo,s yhoeo ,v,t.r, d;ooroo.rod oo-os
ago, lotain their old romantic names.
There ia thc Ocean of Storms covering n
vast region in tho eastern hemisnbere
With its csn,tori,l situation and snr.
rounded bv some Of the most o;oan,;c
maintains Of the moon II m,y b.Ss boan
hoforn i,s w,tors wore s,nIop .,y.v os
ito name imnliee In tho son,h ~ ,be
Ocean of storms nroiects large h.v of a
ron,orl.blv oroop bne ,yh;cb !. caIlod tha
Sea- of Mo;stnro ,vhiIs On Tho nth tho
ocean rms into the narrow Raw of Dox
Then there ia the Saa If Shoyers tho
LARGEST Of ,he moons seas or sea hot,oms
Retween the Sc, of Showers and that
hrilliant nortion of tbe moon oallod ths
Land of IToor Erost Iies tho p,y of R.;nO
hows which "a ,he cniohro,oJ ohsarvor.
Roor ,nd M.disr ,hornh' G,rn;shes ~
most m,gr;f;oent l,nIsrens in Tho ,moon
If il orrrorndaJ by Iof,u sb;r;n~ o,;E, T.
Tho ccntre Of the noon arc no Co. nf
Vanors and tho Raw of Tidas IN Tho north
arc plato or The Greatar Rl,ct Ike the
Sea- If CnlJ and The M.rsb Of SIean the
latter heing ramarkohio for ito raddisb
hne In the east are the Sea- of Serenity
the Sea of fTrannnilitv the Sa, of Esrt;l;ty
tbo Sea If Nectar and Tho dark Cr;s;an
Se. @ Tbe Isst named inJoina from, ;ts
unuor,J donrossion wa hIv ,ho
decnest of ali the Innar seas aIthonyh ito
greatest Iengtb is onIv about three bn5dra5
anJ % f;fIv ,ni1es " '''''' '''
I arnnnd all ,bsso so,. o,,0,o- -;no.d
r,onnto;ns oratars and n,onnto;n rane,es
whose shadows are tbrown mon tba;r isv'
el n snrf,nns varvinS in Ieng1h and share
and M nnmher with ever honr The whnIs
sonthern nnartar Of Tho Moon 10 occmn;oJ
hy the ardst mountain reaion that has the
,nu nrotnr Trobo far '. ;,a na1 oa0t~n '
ooT uora the amotcnr % telsscon;st s nav s ] snsnd
honrs U 'ar amonn ] tho alit,eripa ] roaIs Aa r, ;s
iiIo uG IooLiua o dawn .n ;n,n y. pu" ph"n, IS tho
G AJ;rouJants With the monnt,;ns @ % ;nora.snS v sn
tanlfoId in magn;tnJe and n thnrsand % Fla
IN nnmbor @ ar T6e monnta;n wall that snr- e
ronnds u Trcbo 10 % , nerfsct r;rr ff,H.Sonr %
1';Ins IN yd;amntor pand ,i' thraa s,;lns h' h;"h
o Exac,lu in tho oontro % nf ,hn v "roat % 49,, sHor
oiosod w;th;u tha r;no 80 go ,,,a,nta;n
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