THE MOON'S ORIGIN.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 11123, 24 July 1907, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE MOON'S ORIGIN.

The theory is advanced by a distinguished American professor (not Professor Starr-Jordan) that the neighborhood of New Zealand was responsible for the moon. It does not surprise us ; in fact it is less honor that we deserve. : Astronomers generally believe that the moon was thrown off by the earth by centrifugal force. This professor advance% the theory that at the time the earth had a solid surface 36 miles in thickness, supported on a liquid, or potentially liquid, interior. If this were so, the breaking off a mass would leave a scar, and the bed of the Pacific Ocean, is thought to be this scar. The land and waiter on. the earth are distributed in a very irregular manner, and the centre of gravity of the planet does not coincide with its geometrical centre. In other words, the material forming the continents is lighter than that forming the ocean beds. Geologists say that the continents are permanent surface features of the globe, and when the earth was very young the lighter material must have been distributed uniformly over it. Why is it then that we now find the lighter material on the land masses only? It is believed that part of the earth's crust near New Zealand began to rise in consequence of centrifugal force caused by the earth's rotation, and that the crust on the opSisite side split, forming the Atlantic cean. This crack caused a huge roughly -circular piece of the earth's crust to fly out on the opposite side of the globe, forming the moon, and leaving a great hole which became the Pacific Ocean. The continents must then have floated on an ocean of molten mat-' ter. "If Darwin's theory of the origin of the moon is correct, and it is accepted practically by. all astronomers, the event Was of vital importance to the future development of life on the earth. If the mass of the earth's crust which formed the moon had not been detached there would have been neither oceans nor continents on our planet. The entire surface of the globe would have remained covered with water, .and. terrestial life would have been impossible, except perhaps on a "few islands that might have 1 been raised up by volcanic Tforce."