The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1914-05-07

- earth with an ironioal smile.
Is so close TO We that We
nave excellent opportunity to pry into
its secrets. Since the telescope was
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 a fine photograph fun OF de-
tail Of landscape. we nov have maps
NJ that satellite which are at least
~ 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 IL nearer 20 us than is
any other heavenly body only 23N.S33
miles divide It from us-a distance a
bullet could cover IN some eight days
and an express train Ia some six
Months 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 gums. permit ~ TO make
most minute observations. and. as II
were, bring the lunar landscapes as
close 20 US as. say London IL 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
no longer exist and appear 10 the un'
aided vision as dark patches so We
n 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 10 5000 meters. The biggest
of the moons mountains. called Cur
thus 10y astronomers. has a summit
which is $500 meter from the plain:
that is 10 say. IL equals Mount Ever
est. the highest mountain OF the earth.
And II must be remembered that for
ty-nine moons could be placed In OF
globe. so that. comparatively. the
posing thar ours. At present. with
the best telescopes and al the most
favorable times. we can observe on
the moons surface tiny craters barely
200 meters In diameter. Were the
moon Inhabited. had It cities and
towns and things like our canals
so on, We could see these
with ease, and a place like London,
Tor instance. would appear as a very
bright spot during night time on the
moon. But there Is nothing OF the
sort. The moon has neither air nor
water, for Il is u wandering corpse
among the stars.
Much that VI know OF the moon IL
puzzling. Notably SO are the remark
able mountains. some OF which are
shown IN the illustrations The moon
Is one great Norvay-mountain after
mountain. But the mountains are not
formed as are those OF the earth They
rings OF stone. In which are conf.
ual mountains. Make a ring OF salt
pn the table cloth, half an inch high:
In this ring place a conical mountain
salt rather smaller than a thin
BILE and you have a model OF u noun.
tain OF the Vol Place q candle so
that Its light causes the salt noun.
70 asst long shadows on the
cloth. and you have more or less the
OF a lunar landscape as re.
vealed by q telescope when the suns
are striking II cross WAYS such
d landscape as IL would appear 70 q
10 the moo IL seen In one ~
Illustrations
go
The moon has probably 100000 OF
extraordinary stone r.ugs-sume
but "a few meters wide. others from
80 10 100 kilomete-s. The earth mas
no mountains resembling these. and
many have wondered why nature
should have built so differently on
he moon have speCulated as 10 how
The particular form oi mountain came
INTO being We can only show arti.
icial .m~ountaiUs' having any rasem
Dlance TO those Of our satellite. 4
,inenatoEraph tim OF Il shot falling
INTO a mass OF pulp would make a
very goou illustration a ring forms
suggesting the ring mountain OF the
moon. u a stone be dropped from
certain height on 20 thick plaster
! similar ring will be formed. Not.
ing this, one feels convinced that the
ring mountains OF the moon were ere
ated In like fashion by the falling
N gigantic meteors on 10 the moon
It's surface wal stlll IN a Wis.
state. How 10 L possible. though,
ring mountains 1870 kllometers
should be- so formed on the
moon. when We, who are 80 near 20
Il. have never observed meteors Of
anything approaching the necessary
size, have only seen specimens weigh
Ing a few Kilograms? We must find
another solution.
II u thick pulp Is being cooked. bub-
bles form on It's surface and. In burst.