Various - "Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 159, July 14th, 1920"

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John Spargo - "Bolshevism"

Maria Thompson Daviess - "The Golden Bird"

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Thomas Gwyn Elger - The Moon

T >> Thomas Gwyn Elger >> The Moon




PITISCUS.--The most regular of the Vlacq group. It is situated on the
N.E. of Hommel (a curious oblong-shaped enclosure, Hommel _h_, with a
very attenuated E. wall, and a large crater on a floor, standing at a
higher level than that of Pitiscus, intervening). It is 52 miles in
diameter, and is surrounded by an apparently continuous rampart, except
on the E., where there is a crater, and on the S.W., where it abuts on
Hommel _h_. Here there is a wide gap crossed by what has every appearance
of being a "fault," resembling that in Phocylides on a smaller scale.
There is a fine crater on the N. side of the interior connected with the
S. wall by a bright ridge. Just beyond the E. border there is a shallow
ring-plain of a very extraordinary shape.

NEARCH.--A ring-plain, about 35 miles in diameter, on the S.W. of Hommel,
forming part of the Vlacq group.

TANNERUS.--A ring-plain, about 19 miles in diameter, between Mutus and
Bacon. It has a central mountain.

MUTUS.--A fine but foreshortened walled plain, 51 miles in diameter.
There are two ring-plains of about equal size on the floor, one on the
N., and the other on the S. side. The wall on the W. rises to nearly
14,000 feet above the interior.

MANZINUS.--A walled plain, nearly 62 miles in diameter, with a terraced
rampart rising to a height of more than 14,500 feet above the interior.
Schmidt shows three craterlets on the floor, but no traces of the small
central peak which is said to stand thereon, but to be only visible in
large telescopes.

SCHOMBERGER.--A large walled-plain adjoining Simpelius on the S.W. Too
near the limb for satisfactory observation.


WEST LONGITUDE 20 deg. TO 0 deg.


DELAMBRE.--A conspicuous ring-plain, 32 miles in diameter, a little S. of
the equator, in W. long. 17 deg. 30 min., with a massive polygonal
border, terraced within, rising on the W. to the great height of 15,000
feet above the interior, but to little more than half this on the
opposite side. Its outline approximates to that of a pentagon with
slightly curved sides. A section on the S.E. exhibits an inflexion
towards the centre. The crest is everywhere continuous except on the N.,
where it is broken by a deep crater with a bright rim. The north-easterly
trend of the ridges and hillocks on the E. is especially noteworthy. The
central peak is not prominent, but close under it on the E. is a deep
fissure, extending from near the centre, and dying out before it reaches
the S. border. At the foot of the N.E. _glacis_ there are traces of a
ring with low walls.

THEON, SEN.--A brilliant little ring-plain, E.N.E. of Delambre, 11 miles
in diameter, and of great depth, with a regular and perfectly unbroken
wall. North of it is a bright little crater.

THEON, JUN.--A ring-plain similar in size and in other respects to the
last, situated about 23 miles S. of it on a somewhat dusky surface.
Between the pair is a curious oblong-shaped mountain mass; and on the E.
a long cliff (of no great altitude, but falling steeply on the E. side)
extending S. towards Taylor _a_. Just below the escarpment, I find a
brilliant little pair of craterlets, of which Neison only shows one.

ALFRAGANUS.--A large bright crater, about 9 miles in diameter, with very
steep walls, some distance S.S.W. of Delambre, and standing on the W.
edge of a large but very shallow and irregular depression W. of Taylor.
There is a remarkable chain of craters on the W. of it. Alfraganus is the
centre of a system of light streaks radiating in all directions, one ray
extending through Cyrillus to Fracastorius.

TAYLOR.--A deep spindle-shaped ring-plain, S. of Delambre, about 22 miles
in length. The wall appears to be everywhere continuous, except at the
extreme N. and S. ends, where there are small craters. The outer slopes,
both on the E. and W., are very broad and prominent, but apparently not
terraced. There is an inconspicuous central hill. On the W. is the
irregular enclosure, already referred to under Alfraganus. Three or four
short winding valleys traverse the N. edge of this formation, and descend
to the dark floor. On the N.E. is the remarkable ring-plain Taylor _a_,
18 miles in diameter, rising, at an almost isolated mountain mass on the
E. border, to a height of 7000 feet above the interior. The more regular
and W. section of this formation is not so lofty, and falls with a gentle
slope to the dark uneven floor, on which there is some detail in the
shape of small bright ridges and mounds. On the surface, N.W. of Taylor
_a_, is a curious linear row of bright little hills. Taylor and the
vicinity is better seen under low evening illumination than under morning
light.

HIPPARCHUS.--Except under a low sun, this immense walled-plain is by no
means so striking an object as a glance at its representation on a chart
of the moon would lead one to expect; for the border, in nearly every
part of it, bears unmistakable evidence of wreck and ruin, its continuity
being interrupted by depressions, transverse valleys, and gaps, and it
nowhere attains a great altitude. This imperfect enclosure extends 97
miles from N. to S., and about 88 miles from E. to W., and in shape
approximates to that of a rhombus with curved sides. One of the most
prominent bright craters on its border is Hipparchus G, on the W.
Another, of about the same size, is Hipparchus E, on the N. of Horrocks.
On the E. there is a moderately bright crater, Hipparchus F; and S. of
this, on the same side, two others, K and I. The interior is crossed by
many ridges, and near the centre includes the relics of a low ring,
traversed by a narrow rill-like valley. Schmidt shows a cleft running
from F across the floor to the S. border.

[A valuable monograph of Hipparchus, by Mr. W.B. Birt, was published in
1870.]

HORROCKS.--This fine ring-plain, 18 miles in diameter, stands on the N.
side of the interior of Hipparchus, close to the border. It has a
continuous wall, rising on the E. to a height of nearly 8000 feet above
the interior, and a distinct central mountain.

HALLEY.--A ring-plain, 21 miles in diameter, on the S.W. border of
Hipparchus, with a bright wall, rising at one point on the E. to a height
of 7500 feet above the floor, which is depressed about 4000 feet below
the surface. Two craterlets on the floor, one discovered by Birt on
Rutherfurd's photogram of 1865, and the other by Gaudibert, raised a
suspicion of recent lunar activity within this ring. A magnificent
valley, shown in part by Schmidt as a crater-row, runs from the S. of
Halley to the W. side of Albategnius.

HIND.--A ring-plain, 16 miles in diameter, a few miles W. of Halley, with
a peak on its E. wall 10,000 feet above the floor. The border is broken
both on the S.E. and N.E. by small craters.

[Horrocks, Halley, and Hind may be regarded as strictly belonging to
Hipparchus.]

ALBATEGNIUS.--A magnificent walled-plain, 65 miles in diameter, adjoining
Hipparchus on the S., surrounded by a massive complex rampart,
prominently terraced, including many depressions, and crossed by several
valleys. It is surmounted by very lofty peaks, one of which on the N.E.
stands nearly 15,000 feet above the floor. The great ring-plain
Albategnius A, 28 miles in diameter, intrudes far within the limits of
the formation on the E., and its towering crest rises more than 10,000
feet above its floor, on which there is a small central mountain. The
central mountain of Albategnius is more than 4000 feet high, and, with
the exception of a few minor elevations, is the only prominent feature in
the interior, though there are many small craters. Schmidt counted forty
with the Berlin refractor, among them 12 on the E. side, arranged like a
string of pearls.

PARROT.--An irregularly-shaped formation, 41 miles in diameter, S. of
Albategnius, with a very discontinuous margin, interrupted on every side
by gaps and depressions, large and small; the most considerable of which
is the regular ring-plain Parrot _a_, on the E. An especially fine
valley, shown by Schmidt to consist in part of large inosculating
craters, cuts through the wall on the S.W., and runs on the E. side of
Argelander towards Airy. The floor of Parrot is very rugged.

DESCARTES.--This object, about 30 miles in diameter, situated N.W. of
Abulfeda, is bounded by ill-defined, broken, and comparatively low walls;
interrupted on the S.E. by a fine crater, Descartes A, and on the S.W. by
another, smaller. There is also a brilliant crater outside on the N.W.
Schmidt shows a crater-row on the floor, which I have seen as a cleft.

DOLLOND.--A bright crater, about 6 miles in diameter, on the N.E. side of
Descartes. Between it and the latter there is a rill-valley.

TACITUS.--A bright ring-plain, about 28 miles in diameter, a few miles E.
of Catherina, with a lofty wall rising both on the E. and W. to more than
11,000 feet above the floor. Its continuity is broken on the N. by a gap
occupied by a depression, and there is a conspicuous crater below the
crest on the S.W. The central mountain is connected with the N. wall by a
ridge, recalling the same arrangement within Madler. A range of lofty
hills, an offshoot of the Altai range, extends from Tacitus towards
Fermat.

ALMANON.--This ring-plain, with its companion Abulfeda on the N.E., is a
very interesting telescopic object. It is about 36 miles in diameter, and
is surrounded by an irregular border of polygonal shape, the greatest
altitude of which is about 6000 feet above the floor on the W. It is
slightly terraced, and is broken on the S. by a deep crater pertaining to
the bright and large formation Tacitus _b_, the E. border of which casts
a fine double-peaked shadow at sunrise. On the N.W. there is another
bright crater, the largest of the row, running in a W.S.W. direction, and
forming a W. extension of the remarkable crater-chain tangential to the
borders of Almanon and Abulfeda. The only objects on the floor are three
little hills, in a line, near the centre, a winding ridge on the W. side
of it, and two or three other low elevations.

ABULFEDA.--A larger and more massive formation than Almanon, 39 miles in
diameter, the E. wall rising about 10,000 feet above the interior, which
is depressed more than 3000 feet. It is continuous on the W., but much
broken by transverse valleys on the S.E., and by little depressions on
the N. On the S.E. originates the very curious bright crater-row which
runs in a straight line to the N.W. wall of Almanon, crossing for the
first few miles the lofty table-land lying on the S.E. side of the
border. With the exception of a low central mountain, the interior of
Abulfeda contains no visible detail. The rampart is finely terraced on
the E. and W. The E. _glacis_ is very rugged.

ARGELANDER.--This conspicuous ring-plain, about 20 miles in diameter, is,
if we except two smaller inosculating rings on the S.W. flank of
Albategnius, the most northerly of a remarkable serpentine chain of seven
moderately-sized formations, extending for nearly 180 miles from the S.W.
of Parrot to the N. side of Blanchinus. Its border is lofty, slightly
terraced within, and includes a central peak.

AIRY.--About 22 miles in diameter, connected with Argelander by a
depression bounded by linear walls. Its border, double on the S.E., is
broken on the S. by a prominent crater, with a smaller companion on the
W. of it; and again on the N.E. by another not so conspicuous. It has a
central peak. The next link in the chain of ring-plains is Airy _c_, a
very irregular object, somewhat larger, and with, for the most part,
linear walls.

DONATI.--A ring-plain on the S. of Airy _c_, about 22 miles in greatest
length. It is very irregular in outline, with a lofty broken border,
especially on the N. and S., where there are wide gaps. There is another
ring on the S.E.

FAYE.--The direction of the chain swerves considerably towards the E. at
this formation, which resembles Donati both in size and in irregularity
of outline. The wall, where it is not broken, is slightly terraced. There
is a craterlet on the S. rim and a central crater in the interior.

DELAUNAY.--Adjoins Faye on the S.E., and is a larger and more complex
object, of irregular form, with very lofty peaks on its border. A
prominent ridge of great height traverses the formation from N. to S.,
abutting on the W. border of Lacaille. Delaunay is the last link in the
chain commencing with Argelander.

LACAILLE.--An oblong enclosure situated on the N. side of Blanchinus, and
apparently about 30 miles in greatest diameter. The border is to a great
extent linear and continuous on the N., but elsewhere abounds in
depressions. Two large inosculating ring-plains are associated with the
N.E. wall.

BLANCHINUS.--A large walled-plain on the W. of Purbach and abutting on
the S. side of Lacaille. It much resembles Purbach in shape, but has
lower walls. Schmidt shows a crater on the N. side of the floor, which I
have seen, and a number of parallel ridges which have not been noted,
probably because they are only visible under very oblique light.

GEBER.--A bright ring-plain, 25 miles in diameter, S. of Almanon, with a
regular border, rising to a height on the W. of nearly 9000 feet above
the floor. There is a small crater on the crest of the S. wall, and
another on the N. A ring-plain about 8 miles in diameter adjoins the
formation on the N.E. According to Neison, there is a feeble central
hill, which, however, is not shown by Schmidt.

SACROBOSCO.--This is one of those extremely abnormal formations which are
almost peculiar to certain regions in the fourth quadrant. It is about 50
miles in greatest diameter, and is enclosed by a rampart of unequal
height, rising on the E. to 12,000 feet above the floor, but sinking in
places to a very moderate altitude. On the N. its contour is, if
possible, rendered still more irregular by the intrusion of a smaller
ring-plain. On the N.E. side of the floor stands a very bright little
crater and two others on the S. of the centre, each with central
mountains.

FERMAT.--An irregular ring-plain 25 miles in diameter on the W. of
Sacrobosco. Its partially terraced wall is broken on the N. by a gap
which communicates with the interior of a smaller formation. There are
some low hills on the floor, which is depressed 6000 feet below the crest
of the border.

AZOPHI.--A prominent ring-plain, 30 miles in diameter, E.N.E. of
Sacrobosco, its lofty barrier towering nearly 11,000 feet above a
somewhat dusky interior, which includes some light spots. A massive
curved mountain arm runs from the S. side of this formation to a small
ring-plain W. of Playfair.

ABENEZRA.--When observed near the morning terminator, this noteworthy
ring-plain, 27 miles in diameter, seems to be divided into two by a
curved ridge which traverses the formation from N. to S., and extends
beyond its limits. The irregular border rises on the W. to a height of
more than 14,000 feet above the deeply-sunken floor, which includes
several craters, hills, and ridges.

APIANUS.--A magnificent ring-plain, 38 miles in diameter, N.W. of
Aliacensis, with lofty terraced walls, rising on the N.E. to about 9000
feet above the interior, and crowned on the W. by three large conspicuous
craters. The border is broken on the N. by a smaller depression and a
large ring with low walls. The dark-grey floor appears to be devoid of
conspicuous detail.

PLAYFAIR.--A ring-plain, 28 miles in diameter, with massive walls. It is
situated on the N. of Apianus, and is connected with it by a mountain
arm. The rampart is tolerably continuous, but varies considerably in
altitude, rising on the S. to a height of more than 8000 feet above the
interior. On the E., extending towards Blanchinus, is a magnificent
unnamed formation, bounded on the E. by a broad lofty rampart flanking
Blanchinus, Lacaille, Delaunay, and Faye; and on the W. by Playfair and
the mountain arm just mentioned. It is fully 60 miles in length from N.
to S. Sunrise on this region affords a fine spectacle to the observer
with a large telescope. The best phase is when the morning terminator
intersects Aliacensis, as at this time the long jagged shadows of the E.
wall of Playfair and of the mountain arm are very prominent on the
smooth, greyish-blue surface of this immense enclosure.

PONTANUS.--An irregular ring-plain, 28 miles in diameter, S.S.W. of
Azophi, with a low broken border, interrupted on the S.W. by a smaller
ring-plain, which forms one of a group extending towards the S.W. The
dark floor includes a central mountain.

ALIACENSIS.--This ring-plain, 53 miles in diameter, with its neighbour
Werner on the N.E., are beautiful telescopic objects under a low sun. Its
lofty terraced border rises at one peak on the E. to the tremendous
height of 16,500 feet, and at another on the opposite side to nearly
12,000 feet above the floor. The wall on the S. is broken by a crater,
and on the W. traversed by narrow passes. There is also a prominent
crater on the inner slope of the N.E. wall. The floor includes a small
mountain, several little hills, and a crater.

WERNER.--A ring-plain, 45 miles in diameter, with a massive rampart
crowned by peaks almost as lofty as any on that of Aliacensis, and with
terraces fully as conspicuous. It has a magnificent central mountain,
4500 feet high. At the foot of the N.E. wall Madler observed a small
area, which he describes as rivalling the central peak of Aristarchus in
brilliancy. Webb, however, was unable to confirm this estimate, though he
noted it as very bright, and saw a minute black pit and narrow ravine
within it. Neison subsequently found that the black pit is a crater-cone.
It would perhaps be rash, with our limited knowledge of minute lunar
detail, to assert that Madler over-estimated the brightness of this area,
which may have been due to a _recent_ deposit round the orifice of the
crater-cone.

POISSON.--An irregular formation on the W. of Aliacensis, extending about
50 miles from W. to E., but much less in a meridional direction. Its N.
limits are marked by a number of overlapping ring-plains and craters, and
it is much broken elsewhere by smaller depressions. The E. wall is about
7000 feet in height.

GEMMA FRISIUS.--A great composite walled-plain, 80 miles or more in
length from N. to S., with a wall rising at one place nearly 14,000 feet
above the floor. It is broken on the N. by two fine ring-plains, each
about 20 miles in diameter, and on the E. by a third open to the E. There
is a central mountain, and several small craters on the floor, especially
on the W. side.

BUSCHING.--A ring-plain S. of Zagut, about 36 miles in diameter, with a
moderately high but irregular wall. There are several craterlets within
and some low hills.

BUCH.--Adjoins Busching on the S.E. It is about 31 miles in diameter, and
has a less broken barrier. There is a large crater on the E. wall, and
another smaller one on the S.W. Schmidt shows nothing on the floor, but
Neison noted two minute crater-cones.

MAUROLYCUS.--This unquestionably ranks as one of the grandest walled-
plains on the moon's visible surface, and when viewed under a low sun
presents a spectacle which is not easily effaced from the mind. Like so
many of the great enclosures in the fourth quadrant, it impresses one
with the notion that we have here the result of the crowding together of
a number of large rings which, when they were in a semi-fluid or viscous
condition, mutually deformed each other. It extends fully 150 miles from
E. to W., and more from N. to S.; so it may be taken to include an area
on the lunar globe which is, roughly speaking, equal to half the
superficies of Ireland. This vast space, bounded by one of the loftiest,
most massive, and prominently-terraced ramparts, includes ring-plains,
craters, crater-rows, and valleys,--in short, almost every type of lunar
formation. It towers on the E. to a height of nearly 14,000 feet above
the interior, and on the W., according to Schmidt, to a still greater
altitude. A fine rill-valley curves round the outer slope of the W. wall,
just below its crest, which is an easy object in a 8 1/2 inch reflector
when the opposite border is on the morning terminator, and could
doubtless be seen in a smaller instrument; and there is an especially
brilliant crater on the S. border, which is not visible till a somewhat
later stage of sunrise. The central mountain is of great altitude, its
loftiest peaks standing out amid the shadow long before a ray of sunlight
has reached the lower slopes of the walls. It is associated with a number
of smaller elevations. I have seen three considerable craters and several
smaller ones in the interior.

BAROCIUS.--A massive formation, about 50 miles in diameter, on the S.W.
side of Maurolycus, whose border it overlaps and considerably deforms.
Its wall rises on the E. to a height of 12,000 feet above the floor, and
is broken on the N.W. by two great ring-plains. On the inner slope of the
S.E. border is a curious oblong enclosure. There is nothing remarkable in
the interior. On the dusky grey plain W. of Maurolycus and Barocius there
is a number of little formations, many of them being of a very abnormal
shape, which are well worthy of examination. I have seen two short
unrecorded clefts in connection with these objects.

STOFLER.--A grand object, very similar in size and general character to
Maurolycus, its neighbour on the W. To view it and its surroundings at
the most striking phase, it should be observed when the morning
terminator lies a little E. of the W. wall. At this time the jagged,
clean-cut, shadows of the peaks on Faraday and the W. border, the fine
terraces, depressions, and other features on the illuminated section of
the gigantic rampart, and the smooth bluish-grey floor, combine to make a
most beautiful telescopic picture. At a peak on the N.E., the wall
attains a height of nearly 12,000 feet, but sinks to a little more than a
third of this height on the E. It is apparently loftiest on the N. The
most conspicuous of the many craters upon it is the bright deep circular
depression E. on the S. wall, and another, rather larger and less
regular, on the N.W., which has a very low rim on the side facing the
floor, and a craterlet on either side of the apparent gap. A large
lozenge-shaped enclosure abuts on the wall, near the crater E., with a
border crowned by a number of little peaks, which at an early stage of
sunrise resemble a chaplet of pearls. The floor of Stofler is apparently
very level, and in colour recalls the beautiful steel-grey tone of Plato
seen under certain conditions. I have noted several distinct little
craters on its surface, mostly on the N.E. side; and on the E. side a
triangular dark patch, close to the foot of the wall, very similar in
size and appearance to those within Alphonsus.

FARADAY.--A large ring-plain, about 35 miles in diameter, overlapping the
S.W. border of Stofler; its own rampart being overlapped in its turn by
two smaller ring-plains on the S.E., and by two still smaller formations
(one of which is square-shaped) on the N.W. The wall is broad and very
massive on the E. and N.E., prominently terraced, and includes many
brilliant little craters. Schmidt shows a ridge and several craters in
the interior.

LICETUS.--An irregular formation, about 50 miles in maximum width, on the
S. of Stofler, with the flanks of which it is connected by a coarse
valley. Neison points out that it consists of a group of ring-plains
united into one, owing to the separating walls having been partially
destroyed. This seems to be clearly the case, if Licetus is examined
under a low sun. On the E. side of the N. portion of the formation, the
wall rises to nearly 13,000 feet.

FERNELIUS.--A ring-plain, about 30 miles in diameter, abutting on the N.
wall of Stofler. It is overlapped on the E. by another similar formation
of about half its size. There are many craters and depressions on the
borders of both, and a large crater between the smaller enclosure and the
N.E. outer slope of Stofler. Schmidt shows eight craters on the floor of
Fernelius.

NONIUS.--A ring-plain, about 20 miles in diameter, abutting on the N.
wall of Fernelius. There is a prominent bright crater on the W. of it,
and another on the N., from which a delicate valley runs towards the W.
side of Walter.

CLAIRAUT.--A very peculiar formation, about 40 miles in diameter, S. of
Maurolycus, affording another good example of interference and
overlapping. The continuity of its border, nowhere very regular, has been
entirely destroyed on the S. by the subsequent formation of two large
rings, some 10 or 12 miles in diameter, the more easterly of which has,
in its turn, been partially wrecked on the N. by a smaller object of the
same class. There is also a ring-plain N.E. of Clairaut, which has very
clearly modified the shape of the border on this side. Two craters on the
floor of Clairaut are easy objects.

BACON.--A very fine ring-plain, 40 miles in diameter, S.W. of Clairaut.
At one peak on the E. the terraced wall rises to nearly 14,000 feet above
the interior. It is broken on the S. by three or four craters. On the W.
there is an irregular inconspicuous enclosure, whose contiguity has
apparently modified the shape of the border. There are two large rings on
the N. (the more easterly having a central peak), and a third on the E.
The floor appears to be devoid of prominent detail.

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