ZEbe 3m>ertefr flBoon 77 



its legs, and by the morning it is, I expect, diving 

 down on its head, ready to be standing on its head 

 when it rises again in Australia." 



In forwarding the letter to me, Mr. Hassell accom- 

 panied it with a series of diagrams illustrating the 

 Poodle's position on an evening and morning in Western 

 Australia and in England. The youthful correspondent 

 found it difficult to realise that the moon's face could 

 wear such a different aspect in the two countries. The 

 sketches were made in England during the Spring of 

 1911, and in Western Australia in May, 1912. 



It is evident that the moon was " upside down " to 

 the observer in Australia because the observer was 

 south of its position. It is evident, also, that the place 

 of observation must have been below seventeen degrees 

 south latitude, for that was, approximately, the moon's 

 declination on May 1st, 1912. 



Had the position been north of seventeen degrees, it 

 would have been necessary to look towards the south 

 in order to see the moon, when, of course, our satellite 

 would appear just as it does to us in England. Were the 

 position, however, exactly corresponding to the declina- 

 tion of the moon, then that body would be right over- 

 head. If, then, the observer faced south and looked 

 to the zenith, he would see the Poodle as we see it ; 

 if he faced north and looked upwards, he would see 

 the Poodle " upside down." 



It will be seen that one need not quit the northern 

 hemisphere in order to invert the moon, for suppose 

 the moon to be twenty degrees north of the Equator, 

 the observer would be able to get south of it and see 

 it inverted while he was still well within the northern 

 hemisphere. 



