Telegram-herald., 1891-08-26
NEWS or THE MOON.
ssas ssw Ihings seen ey the Ala %
Photography.

Photography possesses the power
to reveal things upon the moon which
cannot be seen by the eye, even with
the aid OF the best telescopes. care
ful study OF the negatives OF the moon
made with the aid of the great LACK
telescope has revealed the existence OF
many unknown objects there, inelnd-
ing great crater mountains and rifts
or ehasms In the surface of the moon,
as well as some OF those mysterious
objects that go under the descriptive
name of bright streaks or rays.
Near the great crater which We
cali Copernicus. another crater oi near
ly equal dimensions Is shown upon
the negatives, although IL Is absent
from the most elaborate maps oil the
moon and cannot be seen even With
the Lick telescope, except when the
the human retina, Is applied 10 look
for IL. When IL is considered that this
mysterious crater represents me re-
mains of mountain ring more tnan
80 miles in diameter, it appears ex-
ceedingly strange that IL should es-
cape detection by the telescope when
directed TO the moon, and yet be Wis
ible upon a photograph OF the moon.
The reason appears 10 be that the
walls of this newly discovered crater
were long ago destroyed. being razed
by some denuding force nearly to the
level of the surrounding surface. 1t
is consequently but the remnant OF
n great crater ring. Even in that
condition, however. il would be vis-
ible TO the eve but for the fact that
its huge neighbor. Copernicus. whose
walls are still standing 10 great
height, Is surrounded by enormous
masses OF luminous material. which
looks like lava that must have over
flowed the surrounding country ages
ago, and reflects back the light OF
the sun to our eyes with overpower-
ing brilliancy. The glare OF this broad
rejecting surface. covering hundreds
OF square miles, is so great as to cor
ceal the comparatively low relief OF
the broken crater ring.
Another discovery. also arising from
inspection of the negatives made With
the Lick telescope. relates to the won
,lerful system of bright rays surround
ing the most perfect crater In the
moon. Tycho. This extinct volcano II
some fifty-four miles in diameter. and
IS surrounded IN tn" outor side OF Its
lofty walls by n comparatively level
re~ion. sor,~ twenty-five miles broad.
OF much darker hue than that OF
the crater itself or OF the surrounds mr.
county beyond The hundreds OF
great streaks which radiate from Ty-
cho like the spokes OF n wheel, vary
ing in width from ten TO twenty or
thirty miles. and in length from a few
miles to 1000 miles. have always az
peared, when viewed from telc-
scope alone, TO take their rise from
the outer edge of the dark rim sur
rounding the crater. but the Lick neg
ativc shows that some OF the streaks
Mt least pass through this dark rim
cnd extend clear M TO the very walls
OF the crater. The suggestion that
these mysterious streaks had their Ori-
Gin i'm the volcnnic energy Of TychO
when 1t was still an active crs4er,
IL strengthened by the evidence that
the streaks actually reach to the
crater itself.
These discoveries are likely to give
renewed interest to the study OF the
moons surface, and while it is per-
haps too much to expect that great
deal OF light will be thrown by astro-
nomical photography upon the ques-
tion whether evidences OF the present
or former existence OF life upon the
moon can he detected from the earth,
yet there can be no question that n
new method OF attacking the many
problems that still remain to be solved
concerning the character and condition.
of our satellite has been placed with
in the reach of astronomers.