The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-12

under suitable conditions Such tints have
s ppossnes Of U soms e FORM ~ ysS e tns P tSonSS
this would hardly be compatible wifi the alb
sen nee Of ar . IGnst f fIInSttatioS Of chi, o,,.. =,
objects ia the great Oceenus ,procellarum,
which oovsrs an T.. area EO not very direreRt from
ever. we desire TO look At one Of the objects OF
this olsss which seems most alphabetically to
Mare dri:ium. Y needs but little stror. 9s
form, tSS Gin" against sHSa which the waves have
' sseas" sro married. o s"a' with various ifreeuisri.
as smooth 20 .ha' IL must be UNDERWOOD that this 4 l.
merely by way Of contrast TO The extreme rug.
gedpess which prevails over the greater part
The most characteristic features. OF the see
be objects which are the results Of volcanic phe.
,Ssas oS,oo Th ssS s ss9 a, TsSS GSl s; ! So, a l@to oy wsiSe
!s smpt to g give w,i. .oS Ps,PS% rRIsi S DS s%msi OF what 4 may %sI
be called The walled plains, and Of the volcanic
Elgsr. the most perfect example Of q walled
plain on the moon Ia the great object known as
mated covers an area on our satellite consldera-
bly, larger than Wales. y is situated nearly
ward us, so that Il generally lies very, conven.
iently placed for examination: IL will be recog..
objects Of the same character. which lie along
the coast OF that darkest q lunar seas, known
s ssr, tss M as sl MSs!n Circulate RI,plf In ca:li msy t he Ssi
sometimes IL might be regarded as a rudely ak
sided 4 figure. rs oppssr.ncs may b, be H G.1.
bearing the name Of Hsrsehei., The floor Of
below beSss" the general rs Pi sVel' Of a0 The % lunar ae ]sarfscs.
It e so vast that an observer placed in it's
away from him on all sIdes. He would not
realize the fact that ptoiemsus was surround;
lofty mountains, for these mountains would be
below his horizon. Some OF the peaks ascend
S abe %'i the e"i interior SSfS Of the Ss' plain HH'n At certain
points tho mountain chains will be found inter
tSS cas-. BY on mighty tGs m Sa a eot EsesS'rrl' tSle Is shis
and the next adjoining walled plain, which Ia
TO my mind. however. the most interesting
S@sF'sss rsPfssssitatiiys q + class 4 I !. isf = SssasIi;;
that It is probably one Of the arst objects
in identifyins. No other object q, the same
character happens to lie In It's neighborhood,
in distinguishing the walled plain referred TO;
for It may be remarked that the aspect Of the
don Of some features Is at times sa" a little trouble
iSg Sar, shts P os Igb sri sna fr sbads eh q. n tSe moon sna
There is also another Circumstance which is
face which is directed toward US il not always
exactly the same. Hence It follows that at
lying nearest win be found to vary: The din,
from readily identifying the superb object
known as Plato: II Hes q the northern region
object inverted, this means that Plato must be
sought at the lower. part of the field.
Of a mssnifoens lunar sen. namely. The Mare
8 : ! :,aR BssSsil:rsS% Sif $ TSis Fl isS Ss is1 r. i =.
Rion of the moon toward which .e, would spe-
cially direct, the attention OF the student;
There he will find magnificent examples OF
the most striking types of lunar scenery. The
floor OF Plato measures about sixty miles
ception Of certain small Irregularities but the
fact which chiefly strikes the attention Of the
the %photogr, ohs. is the unusual darkness of
that floor, as compared with other parts OF the
rounds Plato is comparatively perfect; and no
more pleasing lunar picture can be beheld than
stretched along the dark central floor. as they |
do when the sun is in such a position that it |
S MHnt | ,us Who spp %as So aie o sei' in the he " n leR1l on.
may mention that the shadows of lunar
mountain peaks not only greatly enhance the
beauty OF our lunar picture from a %spectac-
ular point Of view: but they he ,t have another I'M I'M
only means which he possesses for measuring
the attitudes of the lunar mountains. For. as
toward the observer, lite elevation above the
surface cannot be attained by direct meas
W. maj, illustrate the process employed In
height Of q flagstaff from knowing the length
Of the shadow which IL casts at noon. II the
iaS sgs. v Fl ihs %.i ihe 81 course Re m sssy With On . fsFf fs,!.
tude Of the observer; then the length OF the
5{s3st.as f ias@ tho Of h tsH fss 81 ths wf f'as.t nGt he he
self. II the obser vatlons be made on any other
days save those which have Just, been mentioned;
be greater or less than the altitude Of the flag
staff. However, by a little calculation, which
easily understand. 1t is possible from knowing
the length OF the shadow and the true altitude
determine the height of the Flagstaff by which
that shadow has been cast.
We can measure the lengths Of the shadows
the shadows we're obaerved TO extend half way
Know that the length OF the shadow would be
about thirty miles. From our knowledge OF
we can determine the height Of the sun as II
would have appeared to a lunar observer. These
facts suffice to enable us to ascertain the alti'
The isthmus on, which Plato is situated con-
tains many Other other interesting objects; In fact;
fnmillaIize himself with the characteristics of
the several objects around the Mare Imbrium.
Iridium. Then comes Plato. and then the
gulf sweeps round by n noble range of noun.
tains called the Caucasus, between which and
the range Of the ApEentnes there Is n passage
which leads into the Mare Serenitatis.
AT this point the observer Will not fail to
notice three splendid rings lying out In the
Mare Imbrium. The smallest Of these IL the
Directly below that Is the larger
ring known as Aristillus, which is thirty four
miles In diameter. Its rampant rises upward OF
two miles above the surrounding plain, while
the Interior OF II is depressed some 5000 feet
below the level of the general lunar surface.
A tt N IN ha ann A No N yNAtnn nnn /
inasmuch as II is adorned by u lofty
peak ascending, from the centre, A
view OF the multitudes of details In this mighty
volcano will reward tho diliSent stu.
dent who has the use Of a good telescope. II
ne shoniu = ee Nth attnh liz ne an ~ IN ne ana tir sotthp e
many features OF this superb piece OF lunar
scenery. The third. OF the three cratcrs which
form this noteworthy group lies far out In the
Mare Imbrium, and is the famous lunar object
known as A~rchimedes. This crater is not
of pOInts Of lmterest to AssldnOus