The weekly herald. [volume] (Amarillo, Tex.) 1906-19??, 1908-11-05
A VISIT TO THE MOON.
10 Such q Thing Within the Bounds Of
Psssibility1

10 Such . Thing Within the Bounds OF
Feasibility
can men visit the moon? In any age
bat the present, says Professor Ernest
Green Dodge. A, NJ, this question II
seriously asked would have been an
swered by a chorus Of jesp. so far
beyond the pale Of possibilities has the
visiting Of other worlds always APP
pearOd that writers OF fiction have
felt free to treat the idea Sportiyely,
describing thrilling Journeys through
space 10 impossible vehicles.
Nevertheless the thought Of eIplor-
ing distant planets. pausing en- route
to view the farther side OF the moon,
so tantaliSingly turned from us, Is one
that fires the human imagination most
profoundly. The worst that can be
said IL that II now looks as difficult 10
US as the crossing OF the great Atlantic
must once have appeared 20 the naked
savage upon its shore. The impossi'
bility OF the savage became the trI-
umph OF Columbus, and the day dream
OF the nineteenth century may become
the achievement even Of the twentieth.
A body on the eNrth's equator Is
travelling with the earth's rotation at
q speed OF more than thousand miles
an hour. II relieved Of gravity It
would not fly suddenly of. like a can.
non ball, aud disappear into space, For
several seconds It's rise from the sur.
face of the earth would he so slow
as to be practically imperceptible ow.
ing 10 the small difference between
straight tangent line and the earths
slow curvature Gradually, however,
It's apparent upward velocity would
Increase so as 10 lift Il some sixty-fvc
yards the hrst minute and more than
hundred miles the FIRST hour. IL would
travel 2So,00o miles. the distance be.
tween the earth and the moon, in ten
days, and II suitably exposed TO the
earth's attraction, acting as brake,
while screened from that OF the moon,
its landing could be made gentle and
safe, Strangely enough, the unturning
attitude Of the lunar surface in rela.
ton to the earth makes the return
voyage absolutely impossible save by
q tedious roundabout Journey Of many
Months, Involving the circumnaviga.
ton Of Mars.
The query may now arise, what is
the moon good for even II man sue
cOeds in reaching ~"
We know it 10 be a barren, rocky
world, without air or moisture, un-
speakably cold at night and below the
freezing point even at noon. However,
men could abide there for a time in
thick walled, air tight houses and could
walk ont Of doors In air tight divers
suits. Scientists would find in the
lunar wastes a fresh field for explora-
ton. Astronomers could plant their
telescopes there, free from their most
serious hindrance, the earth's atmos-
phere, Tourists Of the wealthy and
adventurous class would not fail to
visit the satellite, and costly hotels
must be maintained for their accommo-
dalton. Then It is quite probable that
veins OF previous metals, beds Of dia-
monds and an abundance of sulphur
might be discovered on a world OF so
highly volcanic character.
The foregoing may seem filed with
"the stun that dreams are made Of"
yet most Of the assertions are based
on the hard facts OF mathematics and
physics. History is not always par
ticular to follow the precise path laid
out for It by prophets, yet in the long
run It never fails to achieve larger
things than the seer dared to predict
New York World