Part 6
Of volcanic origin, the moon is true to its descent. It is full of volcanoes, most of which, however, perhaps from a conviction of the uselessness of further action--there being nothing to destroy, and no one even to see their explosions--are now silent and torpid. But they wrought out their destiny so long and so faithfully, that the surface of the moon is frightfully disfigured and uneven. Switzerland is a prairie compared to the smoothest part of the moon's surface. It is nothing but incessant mountain and hollow. Lunar Alps and Rocky Mountains intersect every few miles of the surface. The Himalayas would be unnoticed among the gigantic ranges which ornament the lunar superficies. And the projections, mighty as they are, are but trifling in comparison with the hollows. It would seem as though the moon, with apish weakness, had tried to imitate the earth in throwing off space for rivers and oceans--forgetting that it contained no water to fill the cavities. Astronomers have made the most extraordinary discoveries in reference to these lunar hollows. Some of them appear to be about fifty miles deep, and a hundred miles or so wide, with precipitous sides; Mitchell has vividly described these terrible places. Those who have looked over a precipice a few hundred feet in depth may perhaps form some rude idea of what it must be to gaze down into a hole fifty miles deep--so deep that the bottom would almost escape the eye, were there an intervening atmosphere--a great, monstrous cave, with no vegetation either on the borders or on the top, or on the sides or on the bottom; no life of any kind, not even, the least sound, to break the endless monotony of silence--everywhere dull, warm scoriæ, lava, and stones of volcanic origin. But even these are the smallest of the lunar cavities. Latterly, acute astronomers, with improved instruments, have gazed into holes in the moon's surface, and estimated them to be no less than two hundred and fifty and three hundred miles deep, with fissures in them through which the sunlight penetrated.
Fancy the scene! Well may it have been termed the abomination of desolation. Surely this fair earth, with all its gloomy places and all its dreary scenes, contains nothing so overwhelming in its terrible despair as the moon. And who, gazing at its mild white face as it emerges from the cover of a cloud, would deem it so sad and desolate a sphere?
There are no "men in the moon," There cannot be, for they could not exist without air and water. 'Tis a pity, for the sight of this planet of ours, thirteen times the size which the moon appears to us, as fair, and bright, and shining as our nightly luminary, would be a sight worth seeing.
Science has made such progress, and common sense has so far kept pace with it, that the old idea that this was the only inhabited sphere in the universe is now completely exploded. There is no reason to believe that our planet is the only one in our solar system which is devoted to a useful career; nor is there any ground for imagining that our sun is the only one, of the myriad of suns we see every night, which gives light, and heat, and happiness to human creatures. On the contrary, the supreme wisdom of the Deity affords a fair presumption that this little planet of ours is but as a grain of sand among the worlds which have been created for the glory of God, and that each planet after its kind is fitted for the habitation of creatures whose office and purpose it is to thank and bless Him for their existence. Moons may be an exception for a time.
Of all this we know but little, and can only conjecture vaguely. As science advances, we may have telescopic instruments so superior to those now in use that we shall be able to decipher the moon's surface as plainly as a distant shore on our own planet. But visits thither must ever remain as impossible as they are at present. The story of Hans Pfall will remain a brilliant imagination to the end of time.
"In consequence of the moon having no atmosphere, or but a very thin one, all celestial objects must be seen with very great distinctness. The earth, when full, appears to an inhabitant of the moon thirteen times as large as the moon appears to us; that is, its diameter is about 3-6/10 times as large as our apparent lunar diameter. It is always on the same part of the heaven, when seen from the same part of the moon. M. Quetelet, in his _Astronomie Elémentaire_, Paris, 1826, a very good work, which ought to be translated, has the following remarks on the appearance of the earth at the moon, which we would rather quote than vouch for, though they may possibly be well founded.
"Our vast continents, our seas, even our forests are visible to them; they perceive the enormous piles of ice collected at the poles, and the girdle of vegetation which extends on both sides of the equator; as well as the clouds which float over our heads, and sometimes hide us from them. The burning of a town or forest could not escape them, and if they had good optical instruments, they could even see the building of a new town, or the sailing of a fleet."
The lunar day, as we shall afterwards see, is equivalent to our actual month of 29½ days: though the rotation of the moon on her axis is performed in the sidereal month of 27 days 8 hours nearly. Hence the inhabitant of the moon sees the sun for 14¾ of our days together, which time is followed by a night of the same duration. Of course the existence of any animal like man is impossible there, as well on this account as on that of the want of an atmosphere.
The phases which the earth presents to the moon are similar in appearance to those which the moon presents to the earth, but in a different order. Thus, when it is new moon at the earth, it is full earth at the moon: and the contrary. When the moon is in her first quarter, the earth is in its third quarter, and so on; while half-moon at the earth is accompanied by half-earth at the moon.
There is no branch of science better fitted to be made the leading subject of general instruction than that which relates to the planetary and sidereal universe. The truths which it reveals are so startling in their nature, and apparently so far beyond the reach of human intelligence, that men of high literary name have confessed their incapacity to understand them, and their inability to believe them. There are few, indeed, we fear, who really believe that they sojourn on a revolving globe, and that each day and year of life is measured by its revolutions. There are few who believe that the great luminary of the firmament, whose restless activity they daily witness, is an immovable star, controlling, by its solid mass, the primary planets of our system, and forming, as it were, the gnomon of the great dial which measures the thread of life and the tenure of empires. Fewer still believe that each of the million of stars--those atoms of light which the telescope can scarcely descry--are the centres of planetary systems that may equal or surpass our own; and still smaller is the number who believe that the solid pavement of the globe upon which we nightly slumber is an elastic crust, imprisoning fires and forces which have often burst forth in tremendous energy, and are, at this very instant, struggling to escape--now finding an outlet in volcanic fires--now heaving and shaking the earth--now upraising islands and continents, and gathering strength perhaps for some final outburst which may shatter our earth in pieces, or change its form, or scatter its waters over the land. And yet these are truths than which there is nothing truer, and nothing more worthy of our study.
In order to learn, then, what is the constitution, and what has been or may be the probable history of the various worlds in our firmament, we must study the constitution and physical history of our own. The men of limited reason who believed that the earth was created and launched into its ethereal course when man was summoned to its occupation, must have either denied altogether the existence of our solar system, or have regarded all its planets as coeval with their own, and as but the ministers to its convenience. Science, however, has now corrected this error, and liberated the pious mind from its embarrassments. The Palæontologist--the student of ancient life--has demonstrated, by evidence not to be disputed, that the earth had been inhabited by animals and adorned with plants during immeasurable cycles of time antecedent to the creation of man--that when the volcano, the earthquake, and the flood, had destroyed and buried them, nobler forms of life were created to undergo the same fiery ordeal:--and that, by a series of successive creations and catastrophes, the earth was prepared for the residence of man, and the rich materials in its bosom elaborated for his use, and thrown within his grasp. In the age of our own globe, then, we see the age of its brother planets, and in the antiquity of our own system we see the antiquity of the other systems of the universe. In our catastrophes, too, we recognise theirs, and in our advancing knowledge and progressive civilization, we witness the development of the universal mind--the march of the immortal spirit to its final destiny of glory or of shame.
The following are the names which have been given to the mountains and valleys, or hollows, in the moon, and which are referred to in the accompanying picture [See title page].
MOUNTAINS.
1. The Apennines. 2. The Caucasus. 3. The Alps. 4. Taurus. 5. Hæmus. 6. The Altai Mountains. 7. The Cordilleras. 8. The Riphæ Mountains. 9. The Carpathians. 10. The Hercynian Mountains.
HOLLOWS, OR VALLEYS.
A. The Crisian Sea. B. The Sea of Fertility (!!). C. The Sea of Nectar. D. The Tranquil Sea. E. The Serene Sea. F. The Sea of Dreams. G. The Sea of Death. H. The Dreamy Marsh. I. The Cold Sea. K. The Sea of Vapors. L. The Middle Bay. M. The Sea of Clouds. N. The Sea of Mist. O. The Bay of Epidemics. P. The Stormy Ocean. Q. The Showery Sea. R. The Sea of Rainbows. S. The Sea of Dews. T. Humboldt's Sea.
As will be seen, astronomers have done what they could to relieve the dreariness of nature by a free indulgence in fanciful names.
Dr. Chalmers, speaking of the advantages derived from the discovery of the telescope and microscope, says, "The one led me to see a system in every star. The other leads me to see a world in every atom. The one taught me that this mighty globe, with the whole burden of its people, and of its countries, is but a grain of sand on the high field of immensity. The other teaches me that every grain of sand may harbor within it the tribes and families of a busy population. The one told me of the insignificance of the world I tread upon. The other redeems it from all its insignificance; for it tells me that in the leaves of every forest, and in the flowers of every garden, and in the waters of every rivulet, there are worlds teeming with life, and numberless as are the glories of the firmament. The one has suggested to me that beyond and above all that is visible to man, there may lie fields of creation which sweep immeasurably along, and carry the impress of the Almighty's hand to the remotest scenes of the universe. The other suggests to me, that within and beneath all that minuteness which the aided eye of man has been able to explore, there may lie a region of invisibles; and that, could we draw aside the mysterious curtain which shrouds it from our senses, we might there see a theatre of as many wonders as astronomy has unfolded; a universe within the compass of a point so small, as to elude all the powers of the microscope, but where the wonder-working God finds room for the exercise of all his attributes, where he can raise another mechanism of worlds, and fill and animate them all with the evidences of his glory."
* * * * *
_Opinions of the American Press Respecting the Foregoing Discovery._
"HERSCHEL'S GREAT DISCOVERIES.--We are too much pleased with the remarks of the sensible, candid, and scientific portions of the public press upon the extracts which we have published relative to these wonders of the age, to direct our attention very severely to-day to that sceptical class of our contemporaries to whom none of these attributes can be ascribed. Consummate ignorance is always incredulous to the higher order of scientific discoveries, because it cannot possibly comprehend them. Its mental thorax is quite capacious enough to swallow any dogmas, however great, that are given upon the authority of names; but it strains most perilously to receive the great truths of reason and science. We scarcely ever knew a very ignorant person who would believe in the existence of those myriads of invisible beings which inhabit a drop of water, and every grain of dust, until he had actually beheld them through the microscope by which they are developed. Yet these very persons will readily believe in the divinity of Matthias the prophet, and in the most improbable credenda of extravagant systems of faith. The _Journal of Commerce_, for instance, says it cannot believe in these great discoveries of Dr. Herschel, yet it believes and defends the innocence of the murderer Avery. These who in a former age imprisoned Galileo for asserting _his_ great discoveries with the telescope, and determined upon sentencing him to be burnt alive, nevertheless believed that Simon Magus actually flew in the air by the aid of the devil, and that when that aid was withdrawn he fell to the ground and broke his neck. The great mechanical discoverer, Worcester, obtained no credence for his theories in his day, though they are now being continually demonstrated by practical operation. Happily, however, those who impudently and ignorantly deny the great discoveries of Herschel, are chiefly to be found among those whose faith or whose scepticism, would never be received as a guide for the opinions of other men. From among that portion of the public press whose intelligence and acquirements render them competent judges of the great scientific questions now before the community, we extract the following frank declarations of their opinions."--_New York Sun_, Sep. 1, 1835.
"No article, we believe, has appeared for years, that will command so general a perusal and publication. Sir John has added a stock of knowledge to the present age that will immortalize his name, and place it high on the page of science."--_Daily Advertiser._
"DISCOVERIES IN THE MOON.--We commence to-day the publication of an interesting article which is stated to have been copied from the _Edinburgh Journal of Science_, and which made its first appearance here in a contemporary journal of this city. It appears to carry intrinsic evidence of being an authentic document."--_Mercantile Advertiser._
"STUPENDOUS DISCOVERY IN ASTRONOMY.--We have read with unspeakable emotions of pleasure and astonishment, an article from the last _Edinburgh Scientific Journal_, containing an account of the recent discoveries of Sir John Herschel at the Cape of Good Hope."--_Albany Daily Advertiser._
"It is quite proper that the _Sun_ should be the means of shedding so much light on the _Moon_. That there should be winged people in the Moon does not strike us as more wonderful than the existence of such a race of beings on earth; and that there does or did exist such a race rests on the evidence of that most veracious of voyagers and circumstantial of chroniclers, Peter Wilkins, whose celebrated work not only gives an account of the general appearance and habits of a most interesting tribe of flying Indians, but also of all those more delicate and engaging traits which the author was enabled to discover by reason of the conjugal relations he entered into with one of the females of the winged tribe."--_N. Y. Evening Post._
"We think we can trace in it marks of transatlantic origin."--_N. Y. Commercial Advertiser._
"The writer (Dr. Andrew Grant) displays the most extensive and accurate knowledge of astronomy, and the description of Sir John's recently improved instruments, the principle on which the inestimable improvements were founded, the account of the wonderful discoveries in the moon, &c., are all probable and plausible, and have an air of intense verisimilitude."--_N. Y. Times._
"GREAT ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERIES!--By the late arrivals from England there has been received in this country a supplement to the _Edinburgh Journal of Science_ containing intelligence of the most astounding interest from Prof. Herschel's observatory at the Cape of Good Hope.... The promulgation of these discoveries creates a new era in astronomy and science generally."--_New Yorker._
"Our enterprising neighbors of the _Sun_, we are pleased to learn, are likely to enjoy a rich reward from the late _lunar_ discoveries. They deserve all they receive from the public--'they are worthy.'"--_N. Y. Spirit of '76._
"After all, however, our doubts and incredulity may be a wrong to the learned astronomer, and the circumstances of this wonderful discovery may be correct. Let us do him justice, and allow him to tell his story in his own way."--_N. Y. Sunday News._
"The article is said to be an extract from a supplement to the _Edinburgh Journal of Science_. It sets forth difficulties encountered by Sir John, on obtaining his glass castings for his great telescope, with magnifying powers of 42,000. _The account, excepting the magnifying power, has been before published_" [_i. e._, in the Supplement to the _Edinburgh Journal of Science_.--Ed. _Sun_].--_U. S. Gazette._
"It is not worth while for us to express an opinion as to the truth or falsity of the narrative, as our readers can, after an attentive perusal of the whole story, decide for themselves. Whether true or false, the article is written with consummate ability, and possesses intense interest."--_Philadelphia Inquirer._
"These are but a handful of the innumerable certificates of credence, and of complimentary testimonials with which the universal press of the country is loading our tables. Indeed, we find very few of the public papers express any other opinion. We have named the _Journal of Commerce_ as an exception, because it not only ignorantly doubted the authenticity of the discoveries, but ill-naturedly said that we had fabricated them for the purpose of making a noise and drawing attention to our paper.
"Col. Webb of the _Courier and Inquirer_ has said nothing upon the subject; but he only feels the more, and we are this moment assured that he has made arrangements with the proprietors of the Charleston steam-packets to take the splendid boat William Gibbons of that line, and charter her for the Cape of Good Hope, whither he is going with all his family--including Hoskin.
"We yesterday extracted from the celebrated Supplement, a mathematical problem demonstrating an entirely new, and the only true method of measuring the height of the lunar mountains. We were not then aware of its great importance as a demonstration, also, of the authenticity of the great discoveries. But several eminent mathematicians have since called and assured us, that it is the greatest mathematical discovery of the present age. Now, that problem was either predicated by us, or by some other person, who has thereby made the greatest of all modern discoveries in mathematical astronomy. We did not make it, for we know nothing of mathematics whatever; therefore, it was made by the only person to whom it can rationally be ascribed, namely, Herschel the astronomer, its only avowed and undeniable author."--_Editor of the Sun._
FOOTNOTES:
[1]
"As when the Moon,[2] refulgent lamp of night! O'er heav'n's clear azure spreads her sacred light, When not a breath disturbs the deep serene, And not a cloud o'ercasts the solemn scene; Around her throne the vivid planets roll, And stars unnumber'd gild the glowing pole, O'er the dark trees a yellower verdure shed, And tip with silver ev'ry mountain's head; Then shine the vales, the rocks in prospect rise, A flood of glory bursts from all the skies."
HOMER.
The earth is accompanied by a MOON or satellite, whose distance is 237,000 miles, and diameter 2,160. Her surface is composed of hill and dale, of rocks and mountains, nearly two miles high, and of circular cavities, sometimes five miles in depth and forty in diameter. She possesses neither _rivers_, nor _lakes_, nor _seas_, and we cannot discover with the telescope any traces of living beings, or any monuments of their hands. Viewing the earth as we now do, as the _third_ planet in order from the sun, can we doubt that it is a globe like the rest, poised in ether like them, and, like them, moving round the central luminary?
[2] _As when the moon, &c._ This comparison is inferior to none in _Homer_. It is the most beautiful night-piece that can be found in poetry. He presents you with a prospect of the heavens, the seas, and the earth; the stars shine, the air is serene, the world enlighten'd, and the moon mounted in glory.
[3] For an account of the singular views which the ancients had entertained on this subject, see "The Theology of the Phœnicians," by _Sanchoniatho_, who flourished about the time of the Trojan war. Published in a collection of _Ancient Fragments_. New York. 1835.