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    [Illustration: GASSENDI.
    Nov. 7. 1867 10 P.M.]




                               THE MOON:
                             CONSIDERED AS
                  A PLANET, A WORLD, and A SATELLITE.


                                   BY
                          JAMES NASMYTH, C.E.
                                  AND
                       JAMES CARPENTER, F.R.A.S.
               LATE OF THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY, GREENWICH.


 WITH TWENTY-FOUR ILLUSTRATIVE PLATES OF LUNAR OBJECTS, PHENOMENA, AND
                    SCENERY; NUMEROUS WOODCUTS, &c.

                                LONDON:
                     JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
                                 1874.

                                LONDON:
             BRADBURY, AGNEW, & CO., PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS.


                                   TO
                     HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF ARGYLL,
 IN RECOGNITION OF HIS LONG CONTINUED INTEREST IN THE SUBJECT OF WHICH
                               IT TREATS,
                             _This Volume_
                     IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
                                   BY
                              THE AUTHORS.




                                PREFACE.


The reason for this book’s appearance may be set forth in a few words. A
long course of reflective scrutiny of the lunar surface with the aid of
telescopes of considerable power, and a consequent familiarity with the
wonderful details there presented, convinced us that there was yet
something to be said about the moon, that existing works on Astronomy
did not contain. Much valuable labour has been bestowed upon the
topography of the moon, and this subject we do not pretend to advance.
Enough has also been written for the benefit of those who desire an
acquaintance with the intricate movements of the moon in space; and
accordingly we pass this subject without notice. But very little has
been written respecting the moon’s physiography, or the causative
phenomena of the features, broad and detailed, that the surface of our
satellite presents for study. Our observations had led us to some
conclusions, respecting the cause of volcanic energy and the mode of its
action as manifested in the characteristic craters and other eruptive
phenomena that abound upon the moon’s surface. We have endeavoured to
explain these phenomena by reference to a few natural laws, and to
connect them with the general hypothesis of planet formation which is
now widely accepted by cosmologists. The principal aim of our work is to
lay these proffered explanations before the students and admirers of
astronomy and science in general; and we trust that what we have deduced
concerning the moon may be taken as referring to a certain extent to
other planets.

Some reflections upon the moon considered as a world, in reference to
questions of habitability, and to the peculiar conditions which would
attend a sojourn on the lunar surface, have appeared to us not
inappropriate. These, though instructive, are rather curious than
important. More worthy of respectful consideration are the few remarks
we have offered upon the moon as a satellite and a benefactor to the
inhabitants of this Earth.

In reference to the Illustrations accompanying this work, more
especially those which represent certain portions of the lunar surface
as they are revealed by the aid of powerful telescopes, such as those
which we employed in our scrutiny, it is proper that we should say a few
words here on the means by which they have been produced.——

During upwards of thirty years of assiduous observation, every