ROUGH WAYS MADE SMOOTH. 



A NEW CRATER IN THE MOON. 



DR. KLEIN, a German astronomer, has recently called the 

 attention of astronomers to a lunar crater some three miles 

 wide, which had not before been observed, and which, he 

 feels sure, was not in existence two years ago. Astronomers 

 have long since given up all hope of tracing either the signs 

 of actual life upon the moon or traces of the past existence 

 of living creatures there. But there are still among them 

 those who believe that by sedulous and careful scrutiny pro- 

 cesses of material change may be recognised in that seem- 

 ingly inert mass. In reality, perhaps, the wonder rather is 

 that signs of change should not be often recognised, than 

 that from time to time a new crater should appear or the 

 walls of old craters fall in. The moon's surface is exposed 

 to variations of temperature compared with which those 

 affecting the surface of our earth are altogether trifling. It 

 is true there is no summer or winter in the moon. Sir W. 

 Herschel has spoken of the lunar seasons as though they 

 resembled our own, but in reality they are very different. 

 The sun's midday height at any lunar station is only about 

 three degrees greater in summer than in winter ; whereas our 

 summer sun is 47 higher in the sky at noon than our winter 

 sun. In fact, a midsummer's day on the moon does not 

 differ more from a midwinter's day, as far as the sun's actual 

 path on the sky is concerned, than with us the iyth of March 

 differs from the 25th, or the ipth of September from the 

 27th, It is the change from day to night which chiefly 



