6/I'^r heavenly Bodies, have Afitiofpheres, 1 7 f 



pearing- to be niagnified during the annular folar eclipfe of 

 1748. concluded alfo that the moon has an atmofphere *, 



5. The^iioon, during ferene weather, when ftars of the 

 fcveuth magnitude could be feen, has totally difappeared, fo 

 that (he could not be discovered by the belt telefcopes. Se- 

 veral inftanccs of this kind are related by Kepler in liis Ajlro^ 

 iiom'us pars optica f, and by Copernicus in his Epitome of 

 AftronomyJ. The fame thing was ohferved bv Hevelius, 

 Riccioli, Sec. It is worthy of remark, that at the time when 

 the moon difappeared to Riccioli, flie dii'apptared fuddenly 

 alfo in Holland. 



6. Several aflronomers have found that the moon does not 

 always appear equally bright and clear. Hevelius fays, that 

 at various times, though the weather was equally ferene ; 

 though the moon had the fame altitude, and was at the fame 

 diftance from the earth; and though he ufed the fame tele- 

 fcopes, her fpots did not appear equally bright and diftin^l, 

 but were more apparent at fome times than at others. The 

 fame thing was obferved by Erafmus Francifci, and Bulliald j 

 and before them, by Moftlin. 



7. Fiery phenomena have been feen on the moon ; and 

 from this circumftance fome have concluded that fhe has an 

 atmofphere. Koibcn faw in 1705, not far from the line, 

 thirty hours after new moon, the two horns of that luminary- 

 touch each other; fo that (lie formed, as it were, a bright 

 ring. It is related in the Breflau ColleAions §, that fome 

 people faw the moon, the dav after flie had been new, as 

 bright as if flic had been full ; aiid Siegclbcc fays, in the fame 

 work 11, that in 1724, two days after new moon, he faw the 

 fame phenomenon as that obferved by Kolben. 



From all thcfe circumflances it mighv be contiuded that 

 the moon has an atmofphere ; but to thefe grounds, others, 

 perhaps equally ftrong, might be oppofcd. Thefe proofs for 

 the other fide of the qucftion may be found in Mylius'i 



'* Sec Sur rAtmofphere de la Lune prov.vce par la dcrniere Eclijifc an- 

 mtUire du Solcil, par M. Eulcr, in tlic Mctn. dc I'Acad. Royale dcs Sci- 

 i.ncci de Berlin 1748, p. 103. 



+ Pages 127, 297. + Lib. V. p. S15. 



I Sec Brtflauirchen Sammlungen, XV. p. 170. \\ XXVI. p- ;i2. 



Z % Thoughts 



