ASTRONOMICAL PUZZLES.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLIII, Issue XLIII, 18 September 1909, Page 1

ASTRONOMICAL PUZZLES.

IO THE EDITOR.

Sir, —l notice in, your journal of the 11th that Dr Marshall, of Dunedin, -ays: "Human life is only possible between certain narrow limits of temperature. It requires an atmosphere. Waer must be abundant, and a food sup- \ ply must be available. And of the •noon he says: "The sun's rays are beating down unhindered by • any atmosphere." Many years ago the late Mr Proctor used nearly the same words in lecturing upon the same subject. I wrote a few words to the paper and said: "If there is no air at the moon, what is there then, as we are told that Nature abhors a vacuum." And in his lecture down South it was reported that he said "there was snow on the mountains of the moon." Now snow is congealed water, and water is composed of oxygen and hydrogen. I reminded him of the constitution of water. He writes in reply: "I did not say there was no air. I use only one formula, and that was 'there was no air or very thin iir,' and I did not say there was snow mi the mountains of the moon." Yet It was reported. Now, Sir, I have a 'ittle cutting taken from your journal. It is "During the recent eclipse of the 'tin. Professor Pickering, of Harvard University, Uiiit?d States, who was at ;m oh.-u'ivaticn station in Jamaica, ob-tniiK-'d photographs of snow in the mon-i." In the face of these contradictory statements, who are we laymen 1 IjvM'.'vc' Common sense teaches us by hin:<\; on the earth that there cannot 'n a vacuum, and that there must be air in the- moon, and if we believe there is snow on the mountains of the noon, and with a'drop of 150 degrees 'r.-low zero'we may well believe it, there < some ronton to think that the- God vho created the earth with its abund:i 0 of life and enjoyment, also created ho r.-oon and planets for a like purpose. I am, etc., J. PIPER.