The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1921-11-08
SAYS THERE'S ACTIVE
VOLCANO ON MOON
CRATER KNOWN AS LINNE UNI
DERGOES MANY CHANGES.
MANY SMALL CRATERS NOTED
Dense Clouds Believed to Be Result
OF Eruptions Calculated That Luz
ma Is Not Dead, But Sustains Low
Form of Vegetation.

ma is MOI OSau, Dut OuStdLlS III"
Form of Vegetation.
Scriven Bolton, the well-known Eng
lish astronomer, acting upon scattered
observations OF his own and OF other
astronomers, sets forth the theory thar
the moon is not dead, as has long been
supposed. but that some of its noun
tains at least are volcanoes in active
eruption.
Writing in the Illustrated London
News he recalls that the lunar crater
known to us as Lime was OF moderate
dimensions when described by Riccioli
in 1851; when Schroeder examined It
in 1888 he reported it to be very
small round white, brilliant spot con-
tanning a somewhat uncertain depreS
sion" In 1910 LOhrman found it to be
a very deep crater and more than four
miles in diameter Maedlor found it
six miles in diameter a few years later,
and Schmidt confirmed this measure
ment in 1843, but in 1866 found that
Lime had entirely disappeared from
view Today Lime is visible as era
ter only three-quarters OF mile across
and its size is apparently shrinking.
In the much studied region called
Plato incessant changes are taking
place among the many small craters
scattered over it. Continuous Observa-
ton, especially by Prof W. H. Pick
ering, shows that only about half these
craters are visible at any one time the
invisible ones being obscured by
white cloud which gradually dissipates
and leaves them visible again. At least
one of these little craters has been
formed since Prof. Pickering began
his observations.
Dense Clouds Are Seen.
Prof. Pickering has made a signih-
cant discovery in the region known as
Scrhoeters Valley" says Prof Bolton,
where the conditions at certain times
of the lunar day resemble an active
terrestrial volcano. Dense clouds appa-
rently issue from the valley and roll
away on to the adjacent plain. The
eruptive force here is comparable to
that OF Vesuvius when displaying max
imum activity.
"These cloud masses from Schroe-
ter's Valley and the Plato crateria1s
are not improbably streams of gas
issuing from volcanic vents and from
surface assures. Mingled with ice crys-
tails they might form actual clouds in
L
lunar atmosphere a mile or two above
the surface probably does not exceed
a ten-thousandth part that OF our own,
although in the 1OW-lying regions it IS
undoubtedly more dense.
I'm substantiating the theory of
water vapor in the lunar atmosphere
Prof. Pickering finds evidence of the
existence of a low form OF vegetation
Il, 81 clio 81
mountains. The white substance seen
covering mountains and elevated re-
gions he attributes to ice and frost.
Ice Adds Peculiar Brilliancy.
THE gas probably elected by the
volcanoes is believed to be carbonic
acid and water vapor, as in the case of
terrestrial volcanoes, while a major
portion of the lunar globe is covered
by ice. Photographs of the full moon
show the peculiar brilliancy of the lu-
mar poles, attributed to the deposition
of ice. In February last Sir w. H. NJ.
ChriSty, late astronomer royal, paid
visit to Prof Pickering at the Harvard
college observatory, Jamaica and yer
flied, with the 11-inch Draper refrac
tor the remarkable lunar changes dis
covered by Prof Pickering.
"A conspicuous extension OF the APP
penine range seen on February p and
p evidently indicated fresh fall OF
snow a few days earlier The aspect
OF the end OF this range on February
20 indicated a melting of the snow
shortly after the lunar noon.
ITO sum UP our increasing knowl-
edge, based upon the splendid work Of
Prof. Pickering and many world re-
nowned astronomers, leads us to re-
gard our satellite as still retaining and
sharing with the earth certain print
tive characteristics. Rather than being
a dead world, physically, its inherent
heat would still appear to create vol
canic force; and it would seem that its
gaseous envelope, though invisible, is
capable OF sustaining a low form of
vegetation, and causing a deposition
Of ice and snow"