NEWS FROM THE MOON. 22$ 



much more room than the oceans, if originally com- 

 parable to our own atmosphere in density. For even 

 at a height of 22 miles from the moon's surface the 

 density of the air would only be reduced one-half, so 

 that half the lunar air would occupy a shell of space 

 covering the whole moon to a depth of 22 miles. It 

 would thus require 22 times as much space as Frank- 

 land's theory gives, and still the other half would be 

 left outside the moon. But even the oceans are not 

 very easily accounted for on this theory. We must 

 assume that when they existed on the moon's surface 

 they were not quite so hot as boiling water on the 

 earth. In fact Frankland's theory depends in great 

 part on the probable existence of glaciers on the moon, 

 and it need hardly be said that there would be no 

 glaciers while the oceans, and therefore the solid moon, 

 were at the temperature of boiling water. How then 

 is the refrigeration through 180 degrees to take place 

 without passing far below the freezing point ? But 

 frozen oceans would assuredly not find their way inta 

 the moon's interior through the fissures of Frankland's 

 theory. Apart from this it must be remembered that 

 if the moon had a very rare atmosphere, the boiling 

 point would be very much lower than on the earth ; 

 while if she had an atmosphere as dense as ours, it re- 

 mains impossible to understand where that atmosphere 

 can have gone to. 



I have said that the theory requires that formerly 

 glaciers should have existed on the moon. It is mani- 

 fest that, apart from the theory, the question whether 



Q 



