Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1917-10-25
AA0I1L1lON Of the MOON
First Opportunity to Determine
Whether It Was Ever Inhabited.
Only - lli1es Away-1f Betngs Lived
There. Rennants Of Structures
witch They Duiit Mast
Exlot.
Was the moon inhabited T?

Was the moon inhabited?
II 30. the fact Ii likely to be ascertained
before long. One way or the other the
question will be practically settled.
Where there have been habitAtions or
artificial structures Of any kind. such a.
beings human or human-like might erect
there should at least be ruins of some sort
to represent them. Are there such ruins
anywhere on the surface Of the moon?
Up to the present time 1t has been
impossible to say no or yes. But soon 1t
will be different.
There IL now being set up in California
on the summit Of Mount Wilson. near
Pasadena, the largest astronomical tele-
scope in the world. 1t Ia not only the
largest telescope ever built. but is great
ly bigger than any instrument Of the
kind hitherto constructed.
1t will bring the moon. for seeing pur-
poses. to within q distance Of "a miles!
Just try to grasp that idea.
Really, however, you cannot grasp II.
You cannot know what It means. until It
II clearly and definitely explained. To
say that the lamentsd Lusitania would
have been plainly visible and recognizable
40 q ship at that distance helps only q
little bit.
How big will the moon look when
brought within an apparent distance Of
"A miles?
The question can hardly be answered,
because there IL nothing of a size at all
comparable. II the moon we're actually
but "a miles distant from the earth, It
would practically nll the entire heavens.
Think It out for yourself The diam
etsr Of the moon q. leS miles) Is more than
one-fourth that Of the earth. Interpose
cksH
eye and the sky. at q distance of only
"a miles. and how much of the heavens
would remain to be seen?
II person fitted with normal vision
were to case upon the moon from dis
lance Of "A miles. even minor details Of its
surface would be plainly distinguishable.
He could not see a motorcar journeying
across one of Its vast plains. but half a
regiment Of troops on the march would
at once attract his notice. One good
sized building would escape his eye, but
the ruins of a small town would be con-
spicuous
Thus 1t may be said that, when the
great telescope Is finally pointed heaven
ward from the summit of Mount Wilson.
it will be for the nrst time possible to
determine definitely whether there are
to-day on the moons surface any physical
memorials or relics indicative Of former
occupancy Of that satellite by thinking
creatures like or even remotely resem-
bling ourselves.
as everybody knows. always the same
face. What the other side Of the sat
elite In like nobody can say. though pre-.
sumably It's connguration is In a general
way similar to that Of the hemisphere
presented to our view. The area Of the
| visible face IL little larger than that OF
the continent Of South America, and
| nearly three.fourths Of It Is occupied by
vast level plains. the rest being exceed.
ingly rough and mountainous. with nu-
| merous formations resembling huge vol
canic orators.
The moon 10 distant 40, 900 miles from
the earth. But the wonderful artificial
eye on the summit Of Mount Wilson will
cut its apparent distance down to one
ten thousandth Of the actual distance.
The instrument In question Is a RE-
necting'' telescope-which means that, In
place of glass lens. II will use a concave
mirror to catch and concentrate the rays
Of light from the moon or other heavenly
body. The mirror will be 1o1 inches in
diameter.
One easily understands that the making
Of lens Of that size would be attended
with difhcultiss wsll-nigh insurmountable
A piece OF glass big enough for the pur-
pose could hardly be produced without
flaws, the slightest OF which would seri-
| ously interfere with the efficiency Of the
| telescope.
The making Of a mirror Is wholly
different affair. 1t is. to begin with. q
glass disk: but whether 1t is perfectly
transparent or not Ia Of no Importance
inasmuch az light-rays are not required
to pass through 1t. 1t Ii merely ground
on one side to a perfect concave. and this
concave 10 coated with silver by deposit.
ing the metal upon it from a chemical SO.
luton.
The problem is to grind the concave face
Of the glass 80 perfectly true" that
when converted into a reflector by the
| silvering process. 1t will throw back all
reflected light-rays In such wise as to
make them meet at one point-a focus
At that point they are received by a
plane mirror. in the telescope tube. which
throws the lisht-beam out sidewise
through q smaller tube. Into the eye
piece of the smaller tube the observer
looks.
So difYicult . task was the grinding OF
this glass for the great reflector that.
whom 1t Is finished, nearly hve years will
have been required to make It, 1t IL
the 'retina" Of the huge artificial eye.
which will be able to see $4,000 times as
far as the una!ded organ of human vi
sion.
Tho study Of lunar detail requires q
very clear atmosphere In jamaica with
a hve-inch telescope, one may see things
on the moon that could not be distin-
ruished with an instrument 10 times that
size In New York or Boston. The Har-
ward station In Peru. established In 1891
on a mountain peak Of the Andes. 5000
feet above the sea. was set up mainly for
the purpose OF surveying the lunar orb.
the latter appearing from that point of
vantage, with a sharpness OF detail never
vouchsased to observers in northern lat
itudes.
Hence, also, the idea of placing the
gigantic new telescope on the top Of
Mount Wilson, In California. That noun
tain, close to the sea. is one mile In
height Thanks to the elevation of its
summit, and to the dryness OF the cli-
mate. an exceptional opportunity IL there
afforded for astronomical observation.
Clouds almost never obscure the heavens
and the absence Of atmospheric moisture
makes the view of heavenly bodies beau
tifully clear.
The telescope will weigh many tons. and
the task Of carrying 1t. In sections. up to
the top of the mountain (Which is very
steep) Is far from easy. TO construct and
properly house 1t. so that 1t may be
safe from damage by storms, will cost at
least a quarter OF a million dollars But,
happily. money Is no object to the Car
nsgie institution. which has the under
taking I'm charge.