Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-11-22
WIGGINS ON THEMOON.
He Scatters the Theories of Modern
Astronomers to the Winds.
PECULIAR IDEAS OF THE ECLIPSE.
A Diagnosis From the Canadian Expert
That Is Characteristic.
WHY HE'S PREDICTING NO MORE STORMS

OTTAWA, Nov. 2L-Prof. E. Stone Wig
gins, the Canadian astronomer, was inter
viewed regarding the recent eclipse of the
moon. 81 have nothing to report, said
the professor, .'but how strange it is that
astronomers still talk about the moon hay
ing no atmosphere, and yet they never saw
lunar eclipse without witnessing proofs OF
its existence During the total submersion
Sunday evening the lunar disc was clearly
visible, and of the color of smoke.
If she possessed no atmosphere, it would
have been as invisible as black cat in
dark cellar. Three days after new moon
we can see the ring of light around her
whole globe, which would be impossible if
she did not possess an atmosphere to diff
fuse the color light, for the sun can illum-
mate only half of her sphere. The fact is,
the moon would be forever invisible did she
not possess an atmosphere.
"Have you made your views on this SUBJ
ject public?"
Eyes, hundreds of times. In 1864 pub
lished book of 800 pages entitled The
Architecture of the Heavens to prove that
the sun is not body of heat which imparts
light and heat to space, but is dark body
Of electricity which creates, by electric
force, light and heat in the atmosphere of
the planets Between the planets there is
neither light nor hea..
The Fire Theory Long Ago Abandoned.
''It was many years before the old fogy
school of astronomers would reEonnce the fire
theory and adopt mine. But while they
have at last admitted that the suns photo
sphere is electric, they still believe that all
the space of the solar system is illuminated
by the sun. Why, if this were so the
heavens would be as bright to us at night as
by day. This is why We cannot see our
second moon, because it has no atmosphere
to create light by friction with the solar
rays. In this same book also demonstrated
that the moon has an atmosphere, and now
l begin to see that my labor of so years ago
is about to bear fruit, for the Lick telescope
has just revealed snow on the summit OF the
lunar mountains.
THAT reminds me that this great tele-
scope has discovered something peculiar
about one of the moons of Jupiter" inter-
jected the reporter.
Eyes, that it is double. 1 am very doubt
full Of this If the hemispheres were a few
thousand miles apart, one might maintain
its position by revolving about the other,
but to remain stationary-the thing is i'm
possible"
Some of the stars are double, are they
not?"
eyes, but the parts revolve round each
other, The Lick observers probably have
the idea of DR.. Others, an astronomer of the
last century, in their mind, without know
ing it. He thought that large
planet must have once revolved in
the great space between the orbits of Mars
and Jupiter, and that it burst and formed
the four asteroids, Ceres, Pallas, Vesta and
Juno. That idea, however, was abandoned
years ago, when we came to discover hun
dreds Of asteroids, or small planets, in that
region Biclas' comet really did burst into
two parts few years ago. An astronomer
was looking at it through telescope at that