The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1914-06-13

e earth with an ironical smile
is so close to US that we
have excellent opportunity to pry into
invented. in 1908, astronomers have
busted themselves in endeavoring to
find out what this other world looks
like at close quarters, and, thanks
to many fine photograph full of de-
tail of landscape. we now have maps
OF that satellite which are at least
as accurate as those we have of GER
tain countries and more ample than
those OF the heart of Africa and the
Polar regions.
The moon Is nearer to us than is
any other heavenly body; only 23S,S33
miles divide 1t from us-a distance q
bullet could cover in some eight days
and an express train in some six
months-a distance which seems
short, indeed. when we recall the fact
that the sun is four hundred times
further from us. Our huge modern
telescope, instruments which. in size.
suggest big guns, permit us to make
most minute observations, and, as 1t
were, bring the lunar landscapes as
close to us as, say, London Is to Edin-
burgh. So. by using our eyes. we can
take very entertaining voyages to the
moon. Thus we can see her extensive
gray plains, which are nothing more
than dry beds representing seas that
m n
aided vision as dark patches; SO we
can note her mountain ranges, which
may be compared with the Alps, the
Cordilleras and other chains, not only
in aspect, but also in height-from
5000 to 5000 meters. The biggest
OF the moons mountains, called Cur
thus by astronomers. has a summit |
which Is $500 meters from the plain; !
That Is to say, it equals Mount Ever
est, the highest mountain of the earth. |
And 1t must be remembered that for
ty-nine moons could be placed in our
globe, SO that. comparatively. the
lunar mountains are much more i'm
posing than ours. At present, with
the best telescopes and at the most
favorable times, we can observe on
the moons surface tiny craters barely
zoo meters in diameter. Were the
moon Inhabited, had it cities and
towns and things like our canals,
harbors and SO on, we could see these
with ease, and place like London,
Tor instance, would appear as very
bright spot during night time on the
moon. But there is nothing OF the ,
sort. The moon has neither air nor
water, for It is a wandering corpse
among the stars.
Much that we know Of the moon is ,
puzzling. Notably SO are the remark ,
able mountains. some of which are
shown in the illustrations. The moon
g one great Norway-mountain after !
mountain. But the mountains are not .
ormed a. are those Of the earth. They
ire rings Of stone. In which are conf
al mountains. Make q ring of salt -
N the table cloth, half an inch high;
this ring place a conical mountain ~
4 salt rather smaller than q Thin n
lie; and you have q model Of noun :,
AIN OF the moon. Place q candle 30 NJ
hat its light causes the salt noun a,
aims to cast long shadows on the =,
10th. and you have more or less the
spect Of a lunar landscape as re- -
called by telescope when the suns
AVS are striking 1t cross ways. Such
landscape as 1t would appear to q
lsitor to the moon is seen In one OF
le illustrations.
The moon has probably 100000 OF r
lese extraordinary stone rings-some r.
1t q few meters wide; others from Is
to 120 kilometers! The earth has II
mountains resembling these, and II
any have wondered why nature
lould have built SO differently on IL
9 moon. have speculated as to how II
9 particular form of mountain came Ii
to being We can only show srti- Ia
ial mountains" having any resem- lI
ance to those of our satellite. A rs
film of a shot falling Il.
70 a mass Of pulp would make a IL
~ good illustration: ring forms. lM
ggesting the ring mountain of the IN
ION. II stone be dropped from Is
certain height on to thick plaster.
similar ring will be formed. Not
! this, one feels convinced that the ~
6 mountains OF the moon were Gre
ID in like fashion by the falling
gigantic meteors on to the moon IN
lie its surface was still in Wis Dr
IS state. How is it possible, though, mn
t ring mountains l2O kilometers the
le should be so formed on the sne
oh' "heh we' VINO are so near to ern
have never observed meteors OF cas-
thing approaching the necessary Ma,
!, have only seen specimens weigh. -