THE QUARTERLY 
JOURNAL OF SCIENCE.' 
JANUARY, 1877. 
I ^ 
I. PHYSICAL CHANGES UPON THE SURFACE 
OF THE MOON. 
I 
By Edmund Neison, F.R.A.S., 
Author of “ The Moon, and the Condition and Configuration of its Surface.” 
S HE present condition of the surface of the moon is one 
of the most interesting and important questions 
within the whole range of Astronomy ; and being a 
subject of considerable difficulty, and requiring a thorough 
acquaintance with more than one branch of science to be 
properly dealt with, it is not surprising that widely different 
views on the question are held by different astronomers. 
The question is, however, of importance to others besides 
astronomers, and many eminent physicists and geologists 
have recognised that the study of the present condition of 
the surface of our satellite promises to throw much light on 
many vexed geological and physical problems. The opinion 
of that eminent geologist the late Prof. Phillips on this 
subject is well known, for he often expressed his conviction 
that the lunar surface presented the best field for the study 
of many of the more difficult problems of geology, and 
under this conviction he devoted many years to the study of 
selenography. Considering, in faCt, the close relationship 
between the earth and its satellite, and the general analogy 
that selenographers maintain exist between their respective 
classes of primitive formations, it is unquestionable that the 
study of lunar surface must throw light on many obscure 
points in the past history of the earth, and probably in faCt 
on the general history of the planets. 
VOL. VII. (n.s.) 
b 
