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The Romance of the Moon
Atlength,thankstomodernart,instrumentsofstillhigherperfectionsearchedthemoonwithoutintermission,notleavingasinglepointofhersurfaceunexplored;andnotwithstandingthatherdiametermeasures2,150miles,hersurfaceequalstheone-fifteenthpartofthatofourglobe,andherbulktheone-forty-ninthpartofthatoftheterrestrialspheroid—notoneofhersecretswasabletoescapetheeyesoftheastronomers;andtheseskillfulmenofsciencecarriedtoanevengreaterdegreetheirprodigiousobservations.
Thustheyremarkedthat,duringfullmoon,thediscappearedscoredincertainpartswithwhitelines;and,duringthephases,withblack.Onprosecutingthestudyofthesewithstillgreaterprecision,theysucceededinobtaininganexactaccountofthenatureoftheselines.Theywerelongandnarrowfurrowssunkbetweenparallelridges,borderinggenerallyupontheedgesofthecraters.Theirlengthvariedbetweentenand100miles,andtheirwidthwasabout1,600yards.Astronomerscalledthemchasms,buttheycouldnotgetanyfurther.Whetherthesechasmswerethedried-upbedsofancientriversornottheywereunablethoroughlytoascertain.
TheAmericans,amongothers,hopedonedayorothertodeterminethisgeologicalquestion.Theyalsoundertooktoexaminethetruenatureofthatsystemofparallelrampartsdiscoveredonthemoon’ssurfacebyGruithuysen,alearnedprofessorofMunich,whoconsideredthemtobe"asystemoffortificationsthrownupbytheSeleniticengineers."
