The Washington times., 1921-11-06

Granted that there is at work within the
planets interior force so powerful that
1t is gradually expelling this object 1000
miles wide and 10000 miles long from the
surface OF the planet, what will be the fate
OF the newly expelled satelIitey It can be
shown that under such circumstances, un.
less the force were sufficiently great to
hurl the object 20 distance OF at least
one hundred and ten thousand miles from
the centre of the planet, It would In very
short time be torl into fragments by tidal
strains set up by the attraction of Jupiter
Tor mass so close to its surface and it
woll9 be pulverized and distributed about
the planet in the form OF a ring of minute
particles, similar to the Rings of Saturn.
If hurled suddenly to greater distance
:"an 10000 miles IL would set up mos.
serious disturbances, or "perturbations'
as the astronomer would call them, in the
present orderly satellite system OF Jupiter.
All OF the orbits Of the nine satellites of
Jupiter would be changed in form by ,taa
presence OF the intruder The largest
safe llite OF Jupiter is about three thousand
five hundred miles in diameter. the small.
est less than one hundred The Great Red
SDot is seven thousand miles wide and
thirty thousand miles long
Ne do not know its depth, but Il .would
certainly make a satellite considerably
larger than the earth and would far out
rank in size any of the present members
OF Jupiter's family. The mischief II would
cause when suddenly launched into the
orderly Jovian system woul be correspond
!ngly great. The Great Red Spot, so the
records show. did not put in its first ap-
prarance some forty years ago II WAS
observed, II seems. at least one hundred
years ago. II appears TO be a semi per-
manent marking, with its periods of ap-
pearance and disappearance. If IT, had any
intentions Of parting from the parent mass.
this would probably have been accom-
piished ages ago when Jupiter was mere
in state Of turmoil than it is to-day and
when greater internal forces were at work ,
than are in evidence at the present time.
The belief has also peen held and is still
nNored by many astronomers that our
own satellite, the moon, formerly was a
part Of the earth, and that It gradually
separated from the earth in the past when
the earth was spinning far more rapidly
than ii is to-day, that the separation took
place as result Of this rapid rotation and
that the present conditions were brough.
about as a result of tidal reactions.
There have been found TO be very seri.
Gus objections to this belief one Of them
being the one We mentioned above in con,
nection with the Great Red Spot, that even
IL the satellite separated from the parent
mass II would be torn to pieces by tidal
strains and distributed about the DanIt
In the form Of a ring OF small fragments
before its gradual withdrawal to a safe
distance could be accomplished.
Our own satellite, the moon, unlike
Jupiter, is In some ways very similar 10
our own planet Astronomers as rule
have emphasized the fact that It is a dead
world because II has little if any atmHs.
phere and no water-though II has an
abundance Of snow and hoar.frost The
fact that 1t keeps always the same fac"
toward the earth gives 1t day equal TO
fourteen of ours in length and a night
equally long
II is as a result subject TO great ex-
tremes OF temperature During the long
lunar night the temperature must drop to
at least one hundred degrees below zero
and during the intense heat of the lunar
day II must rise-in direct sunlight-near
ly to the boiling point. The existence of
life on the moon has always been regarded
as an impossiblity Certainly in the hu.
nan form life on the moon Is out of 'hc
question.
Those who have most carefully studied
The lunar surface, however have frequently
expressed their disapproval Of the view
that the moon is dead world and the
number of those who insist that they havn
seer abundant evidence If change in lunar
markings is increasing. Professor w. r.
Pickering, who has probably studied the
lunar markings more exhaustively than
any other astronomer Of today, insists
hat continual change is taking place upon
the moon, and more recently has advanced
evidence to show that there are signs 81
a progressive growth of what is apparently
some form OF vegetation during the lunar
day
Any form OF life on the moon would
necessarily perish at the coming OF the
lunar night, its brief period OF existence
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