THE SUPPOSED NEW CRATER ON THE MOON. 
145 
could be placed on the testimony of those who stated that the 
crater could not have existed prior to 1876, or they would have 
seen it. In reply to these objections it was urged, that those 
objects shown in the photographs were not Dr. Klein’s crater, 
but were well known lunar markings. It was stated by 
Mr. Neison that he had examined all these photographs, and 
that in the true position of Dr. Klein’s crater the photo- 
graphs did not show a single object, and that the different dark 
and light spots shown all round the place of the crater arose 
from well-known markings on the moon, all of which were 
shown on his large map made from his observations prior to 
1876. This statement was confirmed by Dr. Klein himself, 
with the important addition that the new crater discovered by 
him was always completely invisible when the illumination of 
the moon was such as it was when these photographs were taken. 
It may be remarked, however, that this supposed visibility 
of Dr. Klein’s crater on the photographs is of little moment, even 
were it possible to satisfactorily identify such an object on the 
photographs. The real point is this, that before 1876 no great 
deep black crater was visible at sunrise in this part of the lunar 
surface, though if it had existed it could not have escaped de- 
tection, whereas now according to Dr. Klein such a crater does 
exist, and is visible. The fact of its being visible sometimes 
after sunrise as a dark spot, though of great interest, is of far 
less moment, for there are known to be several such dark spots 
in this region, and two or more might be confounded, and it 
would be impossible to say that an ordinary small dark spot had 
not been visible in this region prior to 1876. 
On October 3rd the new crater was seen by Herr Bonffay ; 
on November 2nd the new object was seen as a conspicuous 
crater-like depression by two English observers, Messrs. Rand 
Capron and Baxendell ; and since then it has been seen as a 
dark spot by several observers. There is, consequently, no 
doubt that there is some object in this position. Its real nature 
is not yet established. 
It is unfortunate that when the crater has been very obliquely 
illuminated, and when alone its crateriform character could be 
ascertained, then it has only been seen by observers who (with the 
exception of Dr. Klein) are not accustomed to observe the moon, 
and who are not specially acquainted with this portion of the 
lunar surface. There are several selenographers who ought to be 
thoroughly acquainted with this portion of the moon, and who 
could at once say whether this object of Dr. Klein’s was a true 
crater, which could not have been overlooked by them, or was a 
small shallow inconspicuous object which might readily have es- 
caped detection. ' The persistent bad weather, however, seems to 
have hitherto prevented their seeing this region under suitable 
NEW SERIES, VOL. III. — NO. X. L 
