Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-08

III UCH mas OSen WTltGSH rcCeuIly
MI about the use of space rocket
N transportation to the upper
i reaches of the earth's atmos-
phere, and even beyond, to
the nearer planets, notably the moon.
The success of these attempts has, as
yet, been futile. but the experimenters
confidently predict (and with a more
than fair amount of theoretical justi-
fication) that the experimental details
are the main obstacle.
Assuming that at some time in the
not too far distant future a rocket will
be designed which will be able to carry
venturers to the moon, what sort of a
place will they find it. viii life Of
any form exist there? Will the material
of the planet be similar to that of our
own earth? Can the new arrivals from
the sister planet even exist themselves
in the atmosphere of the moon? Is
there any atmosphere at all?
We know something of the geograph-
ical aspects of the moon, at least on
the side always turned toward us, be-
cause the modern gigantic telescopes
bring us within a few thousand miles
of its surface. Not that we are trans
ported there bodily, but the image that
we receive through the telescope is the
same as we would see with the naked
eye If we were that far away. We
know. for example, that the surface is
composed of large mcuntains, deep val
leys and regions which aprsar to be
extinct volcanic crat"~- tortuous
land TO explore, even Il -'anaged to
reach 1t.
Mystery of
Since the earliest tin1e5 ,e moon has
been viewed with both awe and specu-
lation by man, for, notwithstanding the
fact that the modern city dweller
scarcely considers it as a source of light
at night. due TO the increasing use of
the electric light, moonlight has served
for many years in the past, and
still does in a vast majority of places
on the earth, as the only source of
illumination at night.
known scientifically to exert an in
fiuence on the tides of the earth, due
to gravitation, and now put forward
as possible cause of some of the radio
reception difficulties, the moon in the
Dark Ages was supposed 10 exert all
sorts of deep and dire effects on plants
and man. Certain vegetables could
only be planted by moonlight; some
projects could only be undertaken when
the moon was in certain phase These
superstitions are familiar to all of us.
scope was man able to view the moon
closer and find out something Of its
geographical aspects Immediately, the
major features Of the surface of the
moon were mapped and names Dor
rowed from geography and classical
mythology given to these structures
Minor aspects were named after the
principal astronomers and philosophers
Dark areas were first called mares"
from the Latin name for ocean, and
these antiquated names are kept to this
day.
Has Gigantic Craters.
The principal striking and often stu
pendouS feature of the moons surface
is the large number of gigantic depres-
sions, which resemble the volcanic
craters OF the earth. The difference in
size. compared with cTaters on the
earth, Is most unusual, for some of the
craters are 100 miles in diameter and
are frequently surrounded by a ridge
which reaches up to 10000 feet In
height.
Although resembling the craters on
the earth, the origin of these irregu-
larities is topic of much discussion
among astronomers, two theories being
held in some favor. The first and older
theory is that the craters are a result
of volcanic origin. The chief objection
to this hypothesis has been the dis
parity in size between explosive vol
canic craters, such as Vesuvius, on the
earth and the larger lunar craters.
Even when the smaller gravitational
pull of the moon is considered, the OBJ
lection still remains.
The newer theory of the origin of the
so-called craters is the impact hypo-
thesis of Proctor, first presented in
1878. BY this theory the lunar craters
are considered to have been formed on
the moon at some time in its history
by the impact of enormous meteors.
Experiments performed in the labora-
tory on the formation of artificial
craters by the blow of projectiles against
various materials often resemble moon
craters, even to the appearance of the
central peak.
Meteor Crater in Arizona.
An example of such a crater on the
earth is the famous Meteor crater, in
the Arizona desert, which is four-fifths
of a mile in diameter. The same OBJ