The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-09-12
FACTS ABOUT THE MOON.
Some Popular Superstltions Dono
Away With.
An Interesting Lecture on tho Actions
and appearance of tho Lunar Body
Its Influence on tho
Earth.

Prof G. a. Young lately gave IN in
teresting lecture on the moon in the as
Economical course which is being con-
Quoted under the auspices of tho uni
vcrsity extension at Cooper Union.
The moon, in the first place, has
nothing whatever to do, the lecturer
said, with the changes in our weather.
lie had known some farmers in the west
who would never plant root crop"
except on the wanc of the moon, while
a growing-up crop, like wheat or other
grain, he would always insist on plant
ing when the moon was waxing. These
notions, rs well as those held by some
sea captains, that the wind would blow
for n week from the quarter in which
the change of the moon took place,
were, he declared, without the slightest
foundation.
The moon was an insignificant body
In herself. 1t was her proximity to the
earth thatgavc her astronomical impor-
tance. 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 In
the solar system, being onc-cightieth
the weight of the earth, while no other
satellite exceeded one onc-thousandth of
the weight of its planet.
In the peculiar. motions taken by tho
moon there were certain elements
which, the professor said, the law of
gravitation might not fully account
for. Astronomy would one day reach
the limit of an accurate provision and
would reach the field where such Gle
ments of uncertainty would creep in as
the effect of the human will. Speak
ing with eNactitudc, for instance, a man
could not build tall building on the
surface of the earth without lcngthcn-
ing tho day by the change in the posi-
ton of matter involved. Such changes
as this when accumulated through long
periods must produce effects that would
make the astronomical problem Il very
difficult onc-in fact, an incompatible
one-some day.
The heat that the moon sends had been
measured, he said, and found to be
1-1GO,O of that sent by the sun, while
the light was 100000 of the sun light.
The earth shinc," if we could observe
it from the surface of the moon, was
fourteen times rs brilliant as that we
now saw from the moon, and from Il
oulldCc IlilC WIS uDOuC 1Our ClIQcS as
large as the full moon exposed TO us.
This brilliant light was reflected back
from the moon to us slightly, render
ing just visible that part of the moon
in the shade at the time of tho new
moon.
The moon, said the professor. had no
atmosphere to speak of. It's surface
as shown by the slides was a mass of
circular volcanic cratcrs of peculiar
formation, but rent by mysterious fis-
sures which started from the crater of
Tycho in all directions like the strcalss
on the skin of an apple. These assures
we're about half a milo IN width and
extended into the body of the moon no
body knows how far. They cut through
craters and mountain chains in straight
lines and their explanation was not
yet. Some had attributed them tc the
congelation of the central mass like
water frozen in glass globe. Bits of
the mountain scenery of the moon were
thrown on the curtain and seemed very
unattractivc, though evidently grand in
their very ugliness.