The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1894-08-29
the person and property Of the citizen
wherever he may reside.
RUFUS E. BULLOCK.
"Charlesto,0n Beach, R. l., July 81"
Tile Moon
BY LEWIS SWIFT.

the eye OF man ever rcSCeu IL GHc ouu,
after which comes the moon when
shining with full, round face. 1t is
difficult, indeed, to conceive that an
object Of such brilliancy is in reality
a dark one, in itself as devoid Of light
as is the earth at midnight in the ab-
sence of the moon. Moonlight is
simply sunlight received secondhand,
the light of the sun being reflected
from the moons dark surface. This
is true Of all the planets also, though
not of the stars, as they all are suns
self-shining as our own, fact prcvi-
ously given.
If to behold the full moon is spec
tacle so inspiring, her crescent with
it's horns painting either to the right
or left. or, again upward as she nears
the setting sun is hardly less 80, and
in this place demands special attention,
as, from long experience, I find the
cause of her assumption Of the cres-
cent, the half and the gibbous phases
to be very imperfectly understood, it
being often imagined, even, that some
dark body passes between the earth
and the moon, and cuts off her light
wholly or in part, and suggests the
question often asked Of me, "What is
the object which thus intervenes?"
Of. all the countless host Of stars,
comets and planets, the moon is near
est to the earth, and, consequently it
is not possible for any other body to
come between her and the earth.
The moons easterly motion is about
thirteen degrees daily, and her COM
plete revolution around the earth oc-
cupies about III days, but as, during
this time, the sun has moved also east
erly one degree per day, the moon, to
overtake the sun and produce a new
moon, has to make more than COM
plete revolution. This requires lit
tie more than two days, so that from
new moon to new again is not 275, but
294 days, the length Of lunar month.
The instant of the new moon is when
the moon passes from the sun, her il
lumined side being, of course, wholly
turned toward that luminary, and her
dark, and, consequently, invisible side
toward the earth. AS she emerges
from the sun a constantly increasing
portion of her sunny side turns toward
us, and we see her first as slender
crescent which nightly grows in size
until after the lapse Of little more
than seven days after passing the sun
she appears as half moon, one-half
of her sunny side being turned toward
us, or, as the almanacs say, at first
quarter. Mighty, more and more of
her bright disk presents itself until,
rising when the sun sets, her entire
luminous portion is turned to US as
we'll as to the sun, and we see her as
the full-orbed moon. Then, in reverse
order, the above changes are gone
through until a fortnight has elapsed,
when she again passes the sun and be-
comes invisible.
Although the full moon in a cloud
less sky floods the earth with radiance
and splendor and invests the most un-
lovely objects with softened beauty,
yet it would require more than six
hundred thousand moons shining at
once to equal the powerful light OF the
sun. 2.
It is curious and an unexplained
fact, and probably, not an exceptional
case in the solar system, that the
moon revolves round the earth in ex-
actly the same time required to rotate
on her axis, thus forever preventing
her posterior hemisphere from being
seen, and, therefore we are and must
remain ignorant regarding the topog-
raphy and scenery Of the opposite
side.
The inhabitability of the moon has in
every age been fruitful theme for re-
Fiction and discussion, but the inven-
tion of the telescope has settled the
question in the negative. AS it is a
world entirely destitute Of an atmos-
phere, as it has no water, not drop,
and as it's days and nights are, each,
equal to two of our earth-weeks, and,
as furthermore, no change has been
observed since it became an object Of
telescope study, we are forced to the
conclusion that it cannot be the home
of sentiment beings and that it cannot
sustain life Of any sort. Are we then
justified in the belief that this heav.
enly body has been created in vain?
No; we owe much to the moon. She
raises the ocean tides, and their cbb
and flow serve to keep the waters OF
the CULTS, bays and estuaries of the
earth from growing stagnant. And to
sailors at sea she is of great service IN
determining positions.
The moon as telescope object sur
passes in magnifcence all others in
the heavens. On favorable occasions
she can approach to less than 22O, 900
miles from the earth, or, from surface
to surface, to within 215, 900 miles. If
at such time magnifying power OF,
say, two thousand be applied, she will
be seen as though at distance of over
100 miles. Under theseconditions an
object as large as the Capitol at Wash
ington could be seen as a visible
point.
It is not possible for any telescope
ever to do better than that: The idea
promulgated by sensational writer's re-
garding the giant telescopes that must,
wbon comnloted bring the moon to
within few miles or even to dis
tance of few yards, is wholly erro-
neous. To see the moon we'll there is
no need of mammoth telescope, as
she has sufficient light to bear a high
power, yet our atmosphere is so laden
with yapors and lashed with tremors
which are magni6ed as much as is the
moon itself, that the close investiga-
tion ardently desired by astronomers
is prevented thereby, and only low
magnifying powers can be used. But
the lunar scenery even under these not
most fayoroble conditions is grand be-
yond the power of words to express.
The great telescope of the Lowe OBJ
scryatory, with it's incompatible eye
piece, specially adapted for the work,
will reveal her mountain heights and
craterous depths, her yawning canyons
and dry ocean beds, where, when the
moon was young, tides ebbcd and
flowed. .-Mount Louc Echo.