The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1882-12-01
Strange Stories from the Moon.

when we turn to writing about land so far
away as that of the moon we can hardly eX-
pect to carry many eyes with us. But there
are those who will be glad to forget this busy
world for awhile and turn to so placid a
theme as this must be. Successful candidates
and their friends are enjoying the delights Of
| the sunshine of victory, but there are defeat
ed candidates, and they have friends. These
will have realized more clearly than ever the
meaning of the word ''moonshine" in its vul-
gar sense. These we may turn to in the hope
OF convincing that moonshire in an astro-
nomical sense has higher and purer mean
ing,
Some very curious and startling appear
ances have lately been revealed by the tele-
scope in this strange planet. the moon. Be-
cause astronomers have so long believed it to
be dead planet and incapable of supporting
any life upon its surface, "a belief based
principally upon the assumed absence of a
lunar atmOsphere) they have been slow TO
accept the conclusions which these observa-
tions suggest. But as q distinguished writer
declares. (to whom we are indebted throue h
the New York Sun, for the remainder of the
information which follows in this artIele)
these recent observations indicate that the
moon has an atmosphere, and, il it has an
atmosphere, it may have various forms OF life
upon its surface differing as much from those
upon the earth as the moon itself differs from
the earth in its geological and climatologicaI
features. 1t would be very curious il the
telescope, the instrument which has banished
from the moon the hosts of strange creatures
with which the Imagination of some OF the
I ancients peOpled it, and shown how unified
| 1t isforth habitation of beings like ourselves
and those we see around US, should now
make us believe that the moon is the home
OF beings more grOtesque in our eyes, per
haps, than any the imagination has pictured.
We do not say this is probable, but only that
it is suggested by the very interesting obser-
vations which have lately been N ade, and
which are now brie fly described.
During the latter part of the month of
March last, Mr.. Stanley Williams, an English
observer, was looking at the moon in the ear
ly evening with telescope ot considerable
power, and giving particular attention to that
very singular oval valley known to astrono-
mers by the name Of Plato. This valley is
about sixty miles broad, remarkably level,
surrounded by ring of mountains averaging
something less than 4, 900 feet high. but shoot
ing up here and there into peaks nearly as
high as Mt. Etna. When the sunlight strikes
across the SUBMITS of the mountains on one
side it throws the shining peak into splendid
relief, but all the valley within remains
shrouded in darkness. The sun was Just ris-
ing upon this mountain ring when MI Will
liams made his observations OF Plato and his
eye at once detected a strange appearance.
The interior of the valley, which usually ap-
pears totally dark at such times was illumi-
mated with a fiant phosphorescent light,
making its level floor dimly visible. 1t was
not the effect of reflection from the illumlua-
ted mountains, because the interior of the
valley was protected from such reflection
Some passing clouds in our atmosphere shut
out this interesting scene from the sight of
the observer for about an hour When the
sky cleared again Mr.. Williams looked once
more and saw that the strange light had dis
appeared. Mr.. Williams had made similar
observation in the same spot about 1--WE years
ago.
About seven weeks after Mr. Williams
observation, which we have described, there
was total eclipse of the sun, and Ia party of
French and English astronomers went to
Egypt to observe it, as the line of tOtalitY ran
across that country. When these astrOno-
mers turned their spectrOscopes upon the
edge of the moon as it hid the sun on the nth
of May they perceived indications, in the
strengthening of certain lines of the spec
trum, Of the existence of an atmosphere on
the moon. This observation, though not un-
precedented, was hailed with satisf action by
those who had always contended that the
moon was not as dead as it seemed. The
Of
the phenomenon which Mr. Williams wit
messed in the valley Of Plato, as well as va
rious other equally singular observations
which have been made by students of the
moon from time to time.
But this was not all. On the 10Th of May,
two days after the eclipse, J. G.. Jackson, Of
Delaware, while studying the moon, as he
had been accustomed to do for years, with
rejecting telescope, was surprised to see near
the western edge of the disk, and over a por-
ton of the fat region known as the Sea of
Crises, something which he described as a
feathery looking cloud. Just two months
later he saw a similar appearance in the same
place. And now Mr.. L. E. Trouvelot, a well
known astronomer, commenting upon Stan
lev Williams observations, says that he has
more than once witnessed similar appear
ances upon the moons disk. He has seen
lunar landscapes lose their distinctiveness as I
if thin clouds were floating over them, and
once around the crater of Kant he saw what
might have been rare vapOr slightly tinged .
with purple He has also seen another large I
crater Illuminated with a faint purple light. /
Mr. Trouvelot thinks these various appear /
ances are manifestations of lunar atmOs- I
phere of nature yet unknown.
Scattered here and there in astronomical I
records reaching back more than century l
curious observations of a similar nature can .
be found, but they have generally been look
ed upon with distrust or totally dlsregarded.
These recent observations give them renew
ed interest and tend 20 vindicate their cor
rectness II it can be shown that the moon
has an atmosphere, Sir VIM. Herschel's idea
that our satellite is inhabitable will not be
deemed so ridiculous as it has seemed to some
modern astronomers. We should not expect
TO obtain any confirmation OF the Observa-
lions of the German teleseopist who believed
he had discovered big city and great mill
tarv works in the moon, but reasons might
be shown for thinking that the moon sup
ports life peculiar to itself The mere pos
sibilitv of such a thing is somewhat startling,
for the moon is really very near neighbor
to the earth. Few, perhaps realize how close
we are to another world besides the earth,
but it is a very narrow span Of space that
senarates US from the moon. The mean dis