The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1908-12-17
BRIGHT RAYS ON MOONS SURFACE
New Theory of Luna's White Strea KS
Based on Terrestrial Analogy.

the moons surface are explained
by H. G. Tompkins, an English
astronomer, on a new theory based
on terrestrial analogy. The white
ness of the rays he would ac-
count for on the supposition that
the white material consists of solu-
BILE salts of sodium and other min
erals. Says Science Abstracts:
I'm the case of the earth, these
salts d, are brought to the surface
by evaporation in many parts of
the globe, such as the arid alkali
tracts of north India and Persia.
Originally existing below the sur
face, either as beds of solid salt or
salt-impregnated strata, when they
/ come into contact with the subsoil
water they rise to the surface III
solution, and, on the water drying,
are left as a white eflorescence.
The CONFORMATION of the deposit
depends on that of the ground.
Radical Conhgurations can be
traced in many volcanic re-
gions of the earth. They are
due to intrusion of liquid matter
from below, which, by pushing up
a center of volcanic activity,
causes the formation of radial fs-
sures and upheaval of strata round
it. They are not always visible
on the surface If such upheavals
occurred in the neighborhood of
saline deposits, saline strata would
be pushed upward along with
other strata, and would bring
them within reach of evaporation
at those places, and result in eff
floresCenCe on the surface, which
would follow the direction of up
heaval and a radical formation
would thus occur.
"On the moon all the conditions
for such a state Of affairs exist.
The moon having probably once
been part of the earth, the exist
enCe thereon of sodium and other
terrestrial minerals is to be ex-
peCted. The water, in its free
state, does not exist on the lunar
surface, there is no reason why it
should not once have existed in
the soil, and with the lunar elm
ate, there would have been strong
evaporation at some time. Con
sequently any soluble salts in the
crust come to the surface, and ow-
ing to the absence Of clouds or
rain, which might temporarily re-
verse the. process of evaporation,
the salts would rise, more ocean
would have to be taken into aC-
count permanently on the surface,
and follow the confguratiOn of
the ground. If on the earth water
and rain were to disappear from
the surface, a similar state of
thing would ensue, and, in addi-
ton to the countries now affected,
the areas occupied by the objec-
ton to the above explanation
i count, with the enormous quaint
ties of salts at present in solution.
! An object on to the above explain
alton is the invisibility of the
lunar rays when the sun S altitude
is low (according to w. H. Pick
ering under 5 degrees or 10 de-
grees), which has been regarded
by some as indicating physical
change of material. This invisi-
bility, however, may be explained
on the ground that there is little
or nothing except their aldebo
Qntrinsic whiteness) to notify the
presence of the rays, and that a
fair amount of illumination is re-
quired to produce a contrast be
tween the white material of which
they are composed and the sur
rounding country. Literary Di-
gest.
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