The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1904-04-23
LUNAR sUPERsTITI0Ns.

the moon, Prof. w. H. Pickerin!
presents an interesting account of tn
superstitions in which the moon play
an important part.
Probably even in prehistoric time
men have noticed the face of tn,
"man in the MOON" Plutarch motto
ed it and even wrote whole book OF
the face. But besides this, many
other objects are supposed to be visi
BILE. The dark markings on the sur
face are likened by the Chinese to {
monkey pounding rice. In India they
are said to resemble rabbit. To the
Persians, they seem like our owr
oceans and continents rejecting as in
a mirror.
The size of the moon, as seen by
diGersn+ parsons varies from that of q
cart wheel to silver dollar. Tc
many it seems about foot in diam.
eter, from which Prof. Young con-
cludes that to the average man the
distance of the surface of the sky is
about no feet. 1t is certain that art
lists usually represent the moon much
too large in size in their paintings.
Occasionally they represent it in
evening scenes with the horns turned
downward instead of upward, where
as they must always point away from
the sum-. The true angular size of a
moon is about half degree, SO that
it can always be concealed behind a
lead pencil at arms length.
From the earliest times it has been
source of speculation why it is that
the sun and moon, when rising or set
ting, appear 10 most persons from two
to three times the diameter that they
have when near the meridian. As a
matter of fact the sun is slightly and
the moon measurably smaller when
near the horizon, because they are
further off than when overhead. The
true explanation, according to Prof.
Pickering, is twofold. Human esti-
mates of angular dimensions are de-
pendent not merely on the various
dimensions themselves, but also on
extraneous circumstances. The case
is analogous to our estimates of
weight, which are dependent on the
object, but secondly upon its bulk.
Thus a pound of lead feels much
heavier than a pound of feathers.
One circumstance affecting our esti-
mates of angular dimensions is the
linear dimensions of the object itself.
Alhazen, who died 600 years ago,
showed that if we hold the hand at
arms length and notice what space it
apparently covers on distant wall,
and then move the hand we'll to one
side, so that it is in front of some
very near object, we shall find that it
will appear to us decidedly smaller,
than the part of the wall which it
previously covered. An analogous
rising or setting, f5' appear 1afgsi
On On the hnSo horizon, Z iS We We can al c Compare
with trees and houses and see how
large it really is. Overhead we have
no scale of comparison. The same
optical illusion, however, is noticed at
sea, so that we must cast about for
some additional explanation. Clau-
sius, about 800 years ago, showed that
our estimates of size depend largely
upon the altitude of the object under
consideration. When we pass under an
archway or under the limb of tree,
we know that we are nearer the object
than we are when we see it at a low
er altitude. At the same time, it ap
pears just as large as the average per-
son angularly as it does when we are
several feet further away. We are
in fact all our lives, as we walk about,
used to seeing objects rapidly lifting
from their angular positions, yet not
appearing as we pass them any larger
than they do when we are slightly
more distant from them. Thus we
always unconsciously make some com
pensation in our minds for the real
changes in angular size that actually
occur. If now, the limb of the tree
that we pass under, instead of really
growing angularly smaller at the low
altitude than it was when overhead
should remain of the same angular
size in all positions, we should say ii
looked larger at the low altitude
This is exactly what happens in the
case of the heavenly bodies. Unlike
all terrestrial objects, they are practi
cally of the same real angular dimen-
sions when on the horizon as they are
in the zenith. Involuntarily we ap.
ply to terrestrial objects, and are
then naturally surprised to see thai
they appear larger at the lower alti
tude.
The majority of the superstition'
relating to the moon relate to the
weather. Besides, we have the su
perstition that sleeping in the moon
light, especially if the moon be full
induces insanity. Witness our wore
"lunacy," in which the belief is ex
pressed. Farmers believe that th'
moon exercises a certain inf1uenc'
over vegetation, and that beans shoult
be planted when the moon is light
and potatoes when it is dark. Man,
believe that a change in the weathe
will come at about the time tina
there is change in the moon. Prof
Pickering points out that since tn
moon changes every seven and hal
days, every change in the weathe
must come within four days of
change in the moon, and that change
will necessarily come within two day
of lunar change. This superstitio
must not be confused with the real
but ill-de6ned, seven-day period {
the weather, which is genuine phe
nomenon and holds true to a certai
extent. Thus if one Sunday is storm
there is probability that the sewers
Sundays following may also b
stormy. This phenomenon is prob'
blv due to terrestrial causes and hs