Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1886-07-15
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A strange I.ish, on ths surface Of the
Moon.

4 strange Light ON the surface Of the
Moon.
Courier de iIIlino:a.
A well-known French astronomer has
what no believes to-be fire ON
The surface OF the moon. The phenome-
non was first seen by M. Guillaume, at
Peronnes, ne has been verified by the as
tronomer Of the Paris observatory. They
saw reddish brightness on a spot near
the object known as Aristarchus, which Is
a crater formation nearly so miles in lis
longest diameter, and situated In the
northwest quadrant of TINT side of tho
moon which is turned toward the earth.
ATistarchus comes into view two OF three
days before the time Of full moon, and re-
mains In the sunlight from that time till
the moon Is so near the sun AZ 10 be a
matter OF little interest to the ordinary
observer.
The nights when the sunlight falls
on Aristarchus are not, however, those
wnen that spot and its surroundings can
o9 watched with the hope Of finding out
wne'ner or not the announcement In "A
.ll or hoax. The region in ques-
~. uou is already known 10 Jelenognpheraa as
t ~ brightest spot on the whole Of the lunar
usk, and under favorable conditions, with
a large instrument, II shines like piece
u Furnished silver. Hence the possibility
that the observers referred 10 have been
mistaken; but II not, then any little argu-
ment Of light would be inAppreciable in
competition with the flood Of sun illumi-
nation. The time 10 look for ii Ia from
few days after the new moon to three
days before the full, when the spot is on
the unilluminnted part Of the disk.
There can be no question that such
change, II there be, il stupendous one,
or il could not be perceived even family
at the enormous distance Of some 24O, 600
miles, which ordinarily separates US from
our companion in the annual journey
around the sun. And the phenomenon
would be all the more interesting, as the
astronomers have for many years been Of
the opinion that the moon Is a died-out
world. She IN generally spoken of as
entirely destitute Of air and water on her
surface. The fact is that we know she
has not an atmosphere which would
balance in our barometers column of
mercury more than the thirtieth part Of
an inch in hight, or say about one-thou-
sandth part as much as Is forced up into
the tube by the earth's atmosphere.
Within that very small limit she may pos
sess an envelope of air, for all that we
know to the contrary, and some recent
observations favor the idea that the moon
has some such film of atmosphere sur
rounding her, at least on that side
which is turned toward MS. OF course
water is an impossibility in the absence of
afr ~ ku Ea..N IN Nka Hnni1 condition
only by atmospheric pressure. Remove
that, and the water would yaporize to
form an atmosphere of vapor which would
be easily recognized by us. Hence on the
most favorable superstition any form of
organic life with which We are acquainted
could not exist to start ere there, and it
is difficult TO see where such fire could
obtain the oxygen necessary TO support
such combustion. 1t may, therefore, be
safely concluded thnt the reddish glare of
light claimed to have been seen by the
French astronomers cannot be a signal
intended by the Scientists TO open COM
munication with us. The only conceivable
explanation of the phenomenon would be
that ii is fire Of volcanic origin, an
eruption of red-hot matter from beneath
the lunar crust, which is not yet solicited
| to the point where such an outbreak can
only belong TO the dead past. The fact,
If il be one, will gain additional inter st
from the observation Of the crater Lin
neus, which is thought TO have under
gone extensive changes within the last
few years.
The fact that our Mount Etna is now in
an unwonted stRge of activity, after the
fearful outbursts in the Straits of Sunda
and in the northwest part Of our own
continent, is a suggestive one in con.
necton with the alleged exhibition of
lunar activity. Can il be that both bodies
tho earth as we'll as the moOn-are act
ing in response TO some grand agency OF
cosnie origin, and passing through a
period Of convulsiye throes akin TO that
which marks the phnse OF greatest activity
in the formation of sun spots There
may be more in such an idea than q
casual glance at the matter will reveal
but il is too early in the history of philo
sophical research TO reason very closely
on the subject.
! The GAZETTE's astronomical editor
! st ont lls w.. scope lnsf lgcling AMI
! looked for Afistarchus, US we'll as the
mosquitoes permitted him, but in vain
II was then on the dark part of the moon
il is likely TO be within or on the border
of the illuminated portion by this even
ing. Webb, in his Celestial Objects,
says Of Aristarchus "The most bril-
liant crater in the moon quite dazzling
in large telescope, the steep central hill
being the most vivid part The ring il
2S miles across, on the west rising z ,50t
feet above its inner, 2,650 feet above its
outer foot; on the east il becomes
plateau, which connects il with smaller
and sleeper crater, Herodotus A curioui
serpentine valley will be noticed here
nowhere exceeding q miles in width
| (abOut one-third mile deep, schm ), MOI
unlike dry river bed. The reflective
power Of Aristarchus is extraordinary
rendering il visible even TO the naked eyt
on the bright side, and with the telescop,
on the dark one Of Herschel rs very few
errors was his taking it for volcano il
eruption. Schruter pointed out this, bu
the mistake has since been repeated b,
others. There are, however, as alread,
mentioned, variations in its light, noticed
by Schrmter, for which Smyth, who hai
seen it of every size from 9th to 10tl
magnitude star says il is diffiult Il
account. The bright streaks around it il
full moon are no more Of the nature o
lava than they are elsewhere but hay,
seen it on the terminator surrounded b,
wavy radiating streams"