Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1882-12-19

NEWS FROM THE MOON.

NEWS FROM THE MOON.
The telescope has lately revealed
some very curious and startling appear
ances in the moon. Astronomers have
been slow to accept the conclusions
which these observations suggest be
cause they have so long believed that
the moon Is a dead planet and incap'
able Of supporting any life upon It's
surface. This belief is based princi-
pally upon tho assumed absence OF a
lunar atmosphere. But these recent oo'
servations indicate that the moon has
an atmosphere, and, If it has an atmos-
phere, it may have various forms OF lie
upon its surface differing az much from
thoae mon the earth as the moon itself
differs from the earth in its geological
and chronological features. 1t would
. bs very curious il the telescope, the in
strument which has banished from the
moon the host of strange creatures with
which the imagination Of some OF the
ancients peopled it, and shown how IN
fitted it is for the habitation of beings
like ourselves and those we see around
ma. should now make rs believe that the
moon is the home of beings more gro
tesque in our eyes, perhaps, than any
the imagination has pictured. We do
not gay this is probable, but only that 1t
is suggested by the very interesting OBJ
servations which have lately been made,
and which we shall briefly describe.
On the 9th of March last Mr.. Stan
ley Williams, an English observer, was
looking at tho moon in the early even
ing with a telescope OF considerable
power, and giving particular attention
to that very singular oval valley known
to astronomers by the name OF Plato.
This valley il about sixty miles broad,
remarkably level, and surrounded by q
ring of mountains averaging something
less than 1900 feet high, bet shooting up
here and there into peaks nearly az
hiQh az Etna. When the sunlight
strikes across the submits of the noun
tains ON one side it throws the shining
peaks into splendid relief, but all the
valley within remains shrouded In dark
ness. The sun was just rising upon this
mountain ring when Mr.. Williams made
his observation Of Plato. and his eye ri
once detected a strange appearance
The interior of the valley, which usual
II appears totally dark at such times
was illuminated with faint phosphor
escsnt light. making its level floor diml,
visible. It was not the effect Of refiec
ton from the illuminated mountains
because the interior Of the valley wa
protected from such reflection. Soms
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.. vii
llams looked once more, and saw that
the strange light had disappeared. Mr.
Williams had made a similar obserya'
tion, in the same spot, about five years
ago.
About seven weeks after Mr.. Williams
observation which We have described,
there was total eclipse Of the sun, and
q party of French and English astrono-
msrs went to Egypt to observe it, IA the
line Of totality ran across that country.
When these astronomers turned their
spectroscopes upon the edge Of the
moon as il hid the sun on the 18th OF
May they perceived indications in the
strengthening of certain lines of the
spectrum, of the existence Of an atmos-
phsre ON the moon. This observation,
though not unprecedented, was hailed
with satisfaction BY those who had al
ways commended that the moon WAS not
as dead a. it seemed. The existence Of
an atmosphere would explain the phe-
nomsnon which Mr.. Williams witnessed
In tho valley Of Plato, as well as various
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 tho eclipse. John
G. jackson of Delaware. while studying
the moon, az he had been accustomed to
do for years, with rejecting telescope,
was surprised to see near the western
edge Of the disk, and over portion Of
the fat region known as the Sea Of
Crises, something which he described as
Q feathery looking cloud. Just two
months later he saw a similar appear
ance in the same place. And now Mrl
L. e. Trouvelot, a well known astrono-
lner, commenting upon Stanley Will
liams' observation, says that he has
more than once witnessed similar APP
peaYancsa upon the moons disk. lie
has seen lunar landscapes lose their
distinctnsss N If thin clouds we're float
ing over them, and once, around the
crater of Kant, he saw what may have
been rare vapor slightly tinSsd with
purple. He has also seen another large
crater illuminated with faint purple
light. Mr.. Trouvelot thinks these vari-
ous appearances are manifestations Of a
lunar atmosphere Of nature yet un-
known.
Curious observations Of similar ma
turs can be found scattered here and
there In astronomical records reaching
back moro than q century. bat they have
generally been looked upon with dis
trust or totally disreearded. These re-
cent observations give them renewed in
tsrest and tend to vindicats their cor
rectness. II it oan DO shown that the
moon has an atmosphere, SIR William
Herschels idea that our satsllits 10 in
hAbitabls viii not b deemed SO ridicu-
lous - it has seemed to some modern
astronomer. We should not expect 20
obtain any confirmation Of the obssrva-
tons Of the German telescopist who DO
knvNd ha n "A H,.~s,va..<a =. III. ....~ a.