The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-05-26
SOME OF THE MooN's MYSTERIES.
Interesting Observations by Profess
sOr Pickering of Harvard.


From the Boston Journal.
In broad, fiat expanse 'on the moons
northern hemisphere, known to astrono-
mers as the Mare Serenitatis, there is
whitish spot some four miles in diameter
to which the name of Lime has been Civ
en-. 1t has been assiduously watched for
many years, because about 1856 something
occurre which caused wonderful change
in it's appearance. Before it looked like
crater but little elevated above the plain
and its throat filled with black shadow.
Suddenly, instead of crater it appeared
as a white spot Later on a dark center
showed in the spot, as if the missing GRAFT
er had yawned again beneath its mystic
rious covering. But no further change
occurred, and as more than thirty years
have since passed without any alteration
in the aspect of Lime some astronomers
have begun to question whether the OBJ
servers Of quarter of a century ago did
not make a mistake.
Now Prof. Pickering rescues Linne's
reputation as a genuine marvel, but at
the same time increases the mystery.
Watching Ii during the eclipse, when the
shadow of the earth passed like cooling
cloud across the face of the moon he
found by careful measurements that the
size of the white spot surrounding Lime
increased while buried in the shadow, the
amount of the expansion in the diameter
of the spot being about one-sixth of
mile. AS the eclipse passed off it began to
contract again
But this is not ALL Measurements of the
egnimatical spot made when there was no
eclipse showed that it undergoes a similar
but much more extensive fiuctuation in
consequence of the variation in the in
tensity of the sunlight falling upon ii in
the course of the lunar day. A day upon
the moon is equal to about fourteen of
our days-that is to say nearly two
weeks elapse between sunrise and sunset
at any point on the face of the moon.
Measurements of Lime made two days
after the sun has risen upon 1T give it a
diameter of nearly five miles. Measured
after it has been exposed eight days to
the unclouded sun its diameter is less than
two miles and a half. During the long
lunar afternoon, as the sun gradually
sinks and the fierceness of it's heat be-
comes a little tempered, Lime begins to
increase again in diameter and when the
sun gets near the horizon the wonderful
spot is seen to have almost regained the
magnitude that il had just after emerging
from the lunar night.
These changes suggest frost spreading in
| the shadow and receding in the sunshine,
or a cloud alternately growing and con-
tracing under similar influences The fact
discovered by Prof. Pickering that even
the shadow of the earth falling for a
| short time upon the spot causes it to ex-
| pand to a measurable degree shows how
| sensitive it is to alterations of tempera-
| ture.
| But frost or cloud upon the moon pre-
| supposes an atmosphere and vaporS there
| They certainly must be widely different
| from such things upon the earth, but if
| they are abundant enough to cause mo-
| tons and changes visible to our eyes, their
| presence may possibly indicate the exist
| ence of yet more interesting things in the
| lunar world.
1t should be added-because the fact
while at present increasing the mystery
may in the end aid in solving it-that
| changes like those witnessed in Linne
| DO not appear to affect most of the 9TH
| err well known markings on the moon. At
| the time of his eclipse observations Prof
| Pickering carefully watched three or four
| remarkable localities on the lunar sur
| face where craters yawn or fiat plains lie
| extended but not the slightest alteration
was observed in their forms or appear
| ance during the time that Lime was ex-
| panding under the chilling effect of the
ear1h's shadow and then shrinking again
as the untempered blaze of the sun fell
upon it.
There is, however, at least one other
| locality on the moon where curious
| changes of similar origin have been de-
| tected--the ring-shaped plain called Plato.
| This is also in the northern lunar hemi-
| sphere, about 800 miles from Lime. 1t is
astonishingly regular in outline, about 20
miles in diameter, very fiat and complete
| " encircled with lofty, steep and sharp
! peaked mountains-as fine a valley for a
| nation Of hermits to inhabit as could well
be imagined. A few thousand Boer rife
men stationed on the kopjes of Plato could
| make IL safe from invasion against the
entire lunar world. In this singular noun
| taIn-ringed valley it has been noticed
that the rising sun, just peering above
! the surrounding peaks. looks down upon
! a vast whitish gray expanse, filing the
whole Of the immense interior. But as the
solar orb swings clear of the mountain
| tops and the shadows of the pinnacles and
! ridges become shorter upon the plain be-
meath the gray color first brightens and
| then RAPIDLY fades over all the surface Of
| the valley until at lunar noon Plato has
| turned almost black, while at the same
| time its inclosing mountains OF chalky
whiteness are ablaze with the sunshine.
| These appearances, taken in connection
| with the remarkable phenomena reported
| by Prof. Pickering, indicate that there
are certain places on the moon where the
contrast between daylight and darkness
| or between heat and cold manifests pecu-
| liar effects, and in those places the search
| for further discoveries should be pushed
Some day our silent satellite may as
| tonish us with revelations of gr afer hu-
| man interest than any that PARKWAY
| Mars can offer.
| In Chicago. -Ida-"Who is that strange
| man over at the Smythes' on the Lake
| Shore drive? The one that wears bear
| skin breeches and carries brace of re-