The Moon: A Popular TreatiseServiss, Garrett Putman
Science
The Moon: A Popular Treatise
Serviss, Garrett Putman
Moon
“The western shore of the _Mare Serenitatis_ beyond the strait opening
into the _Lacus Somniorum_ is bordered by a series of alternating ring
plains and connecting mountains. The first and largest of the rings is
Posidonius, an immense formation 62 miles in diameter, with a central
crater and curious ridges within the inclosure. Above Posidonius is Le
Monnier, a ring plain whose ‘seaward’ wall has been broken down. Above
that, again, is a mountain range terminating with broken crater rings.
Then we arrive at the strait opening into the _Mare Tranquillitatis_,
which is twice as broad as that between the Apennines and the Caucasus,
and just in the middle of it stands a very perfect crater ring named
Dawes. On the eastern side of this strait the Hæmus Mountains begin with
a long cape called the Promontory Acherusia. Above this promontory, at
the edge of the picture, appears the ring plain Plinius, with a distinct
central peak. This completes the circuit of the _Mare Serenitatis_.
“We return to the Caucasus region. These mountains front the _Mare
Imbrium_ along the upper part of their course with sharp slopes and
cliffs. In the ‘sea,’ nearly opposite the deep, broad valley which I
pointed out as dividing the range completely across, stands a
triangular-shaped ring plain dark with shadow on one of its sides. This
is Theætetus, interesting as the scene of an alleged display of ‘smoke,’
reported to have been witnessed by a French observer with his telescope
a few years ago. Several occurrences of this kind have been reported on
the moon, but more or less doubt attaches in every instance the accuracy
of the observations, or at least to that of the conclusions drawn from
them. Below Theætetus is an oval ring almost entirely filled up, with
two craters within it. This is named Cassini. Below Cassini begins
another mass of mountains, the lunar Alps. These are by no means as
extensive as the Caucasus, but they contain some lofty peaks, and are
traversed by one of the most remarkable valleys on the moon. It is not
very distinctly shown in this picture, but you may recognize it by a
dark band commencing opposite a small bay which sets back into the
mountains. The valley continues through the mountains and the adjoining
hilly regions nearly to the shore of the narrow _Mare Frigoris_, which
runs in a sloping direction from beyond Aristoteles to the bottom edge
of the picture. The Alps spread eastward, broadening out with many
separate peaks, and skirting the _Mare Imbrium_, until they reach one of
the most singular and interesting of lunar formations, the oval ring
plain Plato. This looks like a dark lake surrounded by high cliffs. In
the photograph all of the encircling wall is illuminated on the inner
side except at the east end, where the shadows extend a short distance
upon the floor. Plato looks as though it might once have been a ring
mountain of the usual type, which has been partly filled in the interior
by a local uprush of molten lava.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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