Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-11-05
ABOUT THE MOON.
Some Facts Concerning the Moon are Pre-
scented by Prof. c. A. Young

sented by Pi OF. &. "A. Young.
Prof. c. A. Young gave an interesting
lecture on the moon at Cooper Union,
New York City, recently:
The moon, In the first place, has moth
ing whatever to do, the lecturer said, with
the changes in our weather. He has
known some farmers in the west who
would never plant d root crop" except on
the wane of the moon, while a grown-up
crop like wheat or other grain, ne would
always insist ON planting when the moon
| was waxing. These notions, as we'll as
| those held by some sea captains, that the
wind would blow for week from the
quarter In which the change oil the moon
| took place, where, he declared, without
| TIE slightest foundation.
The moon was an insignificant body in
| herself. 1t was for her proximity to the
earth that gave her astronomical import
ance. At the same time her position was
unique among satellites. She was by far
the largest In proportion to her planet Of
| twenty or more satellites to The solar sys
| tenn, being one-eightleth the weight of the
earth, wnile no ner satellite exceeded
one one .thousandth Of the weight of it's
planet.
| In the peculiar motion taken by the
| moon there were certain elements which,
| the professor said, the law Of grayitation
might not fully account for. Astronomy
would one day reach the limit OF accurate
provision and would reach the field where
such element of uncertainty would creep
IN as the Effect of the human will. Speak
ing with exactitude, for instance, man
could build a tall building On the surface
of the earth without frightening the day
by the change In the position of matter in
VOWED. Such changes as this when &C
cumuated through long periods must pro-
duce effects that would make the astrono-
mAcai problem very difficult one-1n
tact, an incompatible one-some day.
The heat that the moon sends had been
measured, he said, and found to be 1000,
| OOO OF that sent by the sun. while the
light was 900 600 of the sun. The ''earth
shine, if we could observe it from the
surface Ct the moon, was fourteen times
| DIS brilliant as that we now saw from the
moon, and from surface that was about
four times as large as the full
moon exposed to US. This brilliant light
was reflected back from the moon to us
slightly, rendering just visible that part
of the moon III the shadow at the time of
his new moon.
The moon, said the professor, had no at
moaphere 10 speak of. Its surface shown
by the slides " as mass of circular vol
canic craters of peculiar formation, but
rent by mysterious assures with started
from the orator Of fycho in all directions
like the streaks on the skin Of an apple.
These assures were about half mile in
width and extended int the body of the
moon nobody knew how far. They cut
through claters and mountain chains in
straight lines and their explanation was
not Yet. Some had attributed them to
rhe congelation of The central mass of wa
ter frozen in glass globe. Bits of noun
tain scenery Of the moon were thrown on
the curtain and seemed very unattractive,
though evidently gr; I'd in their very ugli-
ness.