Part 19

ROSENBERGER.--This formation, about 50 miles in diameter, is one of the remarkable group of large rings to which Vlacq, Hommel, Pitiscus, &c., belong. Its walls, though of only moderate altitude, are distinctly terraced. In addition to a prominent central mountain (E. of which Schmidt shows two craters), there is a large crater on the S. side of the floor, and many smaller craters and crater-pits.

HAGECIUS.--The most westerly member of the Vlacq group of formations. It is situated on the S.W. of Rosenberger, and is about 50 miles in diameter. The rampart on the E. is continuous and of the normal type, but on the opposite side is broken by a number of smaller rings.

WEST LONGITUDE 40 deg. TO 20 deg.

CENSORINUS.--A brilliant little crater, with very bright surroundings, in the Mare Tranquilitatis, nearly on the moon's equator, in W. long. 32 deg. 22 min. Another smaller but less conspicuous crater adjoins it on the W. On the Mare to the S. extends a delicate cleft which trends towards the Sabine and Ritter rill system.

CAPELLA.--Forms with Isodorus, its companion on the E. (which it partially overlaps), a very noteworthy object. It is about 30 miles in diameter, with finely terraced walls, broken on the S.W. by broad intrusive rill-valleys. The rampart on the N.E. is also cut through by a magnificent valley, which extends for many miles beyond the limits of the formation. There is a fine central mountain, on which M. Gaudibert discovered a crater, the existence of which has been subsequently verified by Professor Weinek on a Lick observatory negative.

ISODORUS.--The rampart of this fine ring-plain, which is of about the same size as Capella, rises at a peak on the W. to a height of more than 13,000 feet above the interior, which, except a small bright crater at the foot of the E. wall and a smaller one adjoining it on the N., contains no detail. The region between Isodorus and the equator includes many interesting objects, among them Isodorus b, an irregular formation open towards the N., and containing several craters.

BOHNENBERGER.--A ring-plain about 22 miles in diameter, situated on the W. side of the Mare Nectaris, under the precipitous flanks of the Pyrenees, whose prominent shadows partially conceal it for many hours after sunrise. The circular border is comparatively low, and, except on the N., continuous. Here there is a gap, and on the W. of it an intrusive mass of rock. From its very peculiar shadow at sunrise, the wall on the E. appears to be very irregular. The club-shaped central mountain is of considerable size, but not conspicuous. S. of Bohnenberger stands the very attenuated ring, Bohnenberger A. It is of about the same diameter, has a large deep crater on its N. rim, and a smaller one, distinguished with difficulty, on its S.E. rim. On the N. of Bohnenberger there is a bright little ring-plain connected with the formation by a lofty ridge, under the E. flank of which Schmidt shows a crater-chain. An especially fine cleft originates on the E. side of this crater, which, following an undulating course over the Mare Nectaris, terminates at Rosse, N. of Fracastorius.

TORRICELLI.--A remarkable little formation in the Mare Tranquilitatis, N. of Theophilus, consisting of two unequal contiguous craters ranging from W. to E., whose partition wall has nearly disappeared, so that, under a low sun, when the interior of both is filled with shadow, the pair resemble the head of a javelin. The larger, western, ring is about 10 miles in diameter, and the other about half this size. There is a gap in the W. wall of the first, and a long spur projecting from its S. side; and a minute crater on the S. border of the smaller object. Torricelli is partially enclosed on the S. by a circular arrangement of ridges. There is a delicate cleft running in a meridional direction on the Mare, E. of the formation, and another on the N., running from W. to E.

HYPATIA.--A ring-plain, about 30 miles in extreme length, of very abnormal shape, on the E. side of the Mare, N.N.E. of Theophilus, with a wall rising at a peak on the E. to a height of more than 7000 feet above a dusky floor, which does not apparently contain any detail. A small crater breaks the uniformity of the border on the W. Beyond the wall on the S.E. lies the fine bright crater Hypatia A, with another less prominent adjoining it on the S.W.

THEOPHILUS.--The most northerly of three of the noblest ring-mountains on the visible surface of the moon, situated on the N.E. side of the Mare Nectaris. It is nearly 64 miles in diameter, and is enclosed by a mighty rampart towering above the floor at one peak on the W. to the height of 18,000 feet, and at two other peaks on the opposite side to nearly 16,000 and 14,000. The border, though appearing nearly circular with low powers, is seen, under greater magnification, to be made up of several more or less linear sections, which give it a polygonal outline. It is prominently terraced within, the loftier terraces on the W. rising nearly to the height of the crest of the wall, and including several craters and elongated depressions. On the W. glacis is a row of large inosculating craters; and near its foot, S.E. of Madler, a short unrecorded rill- valley. The magnificent bright central mountain is composed of many distinct masses surmounted by lofty peaks, one of which is about 6000 feet above the floor, and covers an area of at least 300 square miles. Except a distinct crater on the S.W. quarter, this appears to be the only object within the ring.

CYRILLUS.--The massive border of Theophilus partially overlaps the N.W. side of this great walled-plain, which is even more complex than that of its neighbour, and far more irregular in form, exhibiting many linear sections. Its crest on the S.E. is clearly inflected towards the interior, a peculiarity that has already been noticed in connection with Copernicus and some other objects. On the inner slope of this wall there is a large bright crater, in connection with which have been detected two delicate rills extending to the summit. I have not seen these, but one of the crater-rows shown by Schmidt, between this crater and the crest, has often been noted. The N.E. wall is very remarkable. It appears to be partially wrecked. If observed at an early stage of sunrise, a great number of undulating ridges and rows of hillocks will be seen crossing the region E. of Theophilus. They resemble a consolidated stream of "ropy" lava which has flowed through and over the wall and down the glacis. The arrangement of the ridges within Cyrillus is very noteworthy, as is also the triple mountain near the centre of the floor. The fine curved cleft thereon traverses the W. side, sweeping round the central mountains, and then turning to the south. I have only occasionally seen it in its entirety. There are also two oblong dark patches on the S. side of the interior. The S. wall of Cyrillus is broken by a narrow pass opening out into a valley situated on the plateau which bounds the W. side of the oblong formation lying between it and Catherina, and overlooking a curious shallow square-shaped enclosure abutting on the S.W. side of Cyrillus.

CATHERINA.--The largest of the three great formations: a ring-plain with a very irregular outline, extending more than 70 miles in a meridional direction, and of still greater width. The wall is comparatively narrow and low on the N.E. (8000 feet above the floor), but on the N.W. it rises to more than double this height, and is broken by some large depressions. The inner slope on the S.E. is very gentle, and includes two bright craters, but exhibits only slight indications of terraces. The most remarkable features on an otherwise even interior are the large low narrow ring (with a crater within it), occupying fully a third of the area of the floor, and a large ring-plain on the S. side.

MADLER.--The interest attaching to this formation is not to be measured by its size, for it is only about 20 miles in diameter, but by the remarkable character of its surroundings. Its bright regular wall, rising 6000 feet on the E. and only about half as much on the W., above a rather dark interior, is everywhere continuous, except at one place on the N. Here there is a narrow gap (flanked on the E. by a somewhat obscure little crater) through which a curious bent ridge coming up from the N. passes, and, extending on to the floor, expands into something resembling a central mountain. Under a high sun Madler has a very peculiar appearance. The lofty E. wall is barely perceptible, while the much lower W. border is conspicuously brilliant; and the E. half of the floor is dark, while the remainder, with two objects representing the loftier portions of the intrusive ridge, is prominently white. Under an evening sun, with the terminator lying some distance to the W., a very remarkable obscure ring with a low border, a valley running round it on the W. side, and two large central mounds, may be easily traced. This object is connected with Madler by what appears to be under a higher sun a bright elbow-shaped marking, in connection with which I have often suspected a delicate cleft. Between the obtuse-angled bend of this object and the W. wall of Madler, two large circular dark spots may be seen under a high sun; and on the surface of the Mare N. of it, a great number of delicate white spots.

BEAUMONT.--A ring-plain about 30 miles in diameter, on the S.E. side of the Mare Nectaris, midway between Theophilus and Fracastorius, with the N.E. side of which it is connected by a chain of large depressions. Its border is lofty, regular, and continuous on the S. and E., but on the W. it is low, and on the N. sinks to such a very inconsiderable height that it is often scarcely traceable. It exhibits two breaks on the S.W., through one of which passes a coarse valley that ultimately runs on the E. side of the depressions just referred to. The interior is pitted with many craters, one on the W. side being shallow but of considerable size. I once counted twenty with a 4 inch Cooke achromatic, and Dr. Sheldon of Macclesfield subsequently noted many more. A ridge, prominent under oblique light, follows a winding course from the N.W. side of Beaumont to the W. side of Theophilus, and there is another lower ridge E. of it. Between them is included a region covered with minute hillocks and asperities. Among these objects are certain dusky little crater-cones, which Dr. Klein of Cologne regards as true analogues of some terrestrial volcanoes. They are very similar in character to those, already alluded to, in the dusky area between Copernicus and Gambart.

KANT.--A conspicuous ring-plain, 23 miles in diameter, situated in a mountainous district E. of Theophilus, with lofty terraced walls and a bright central peak. Adjoining it on the W. is a mountain mass, projecting from the coast-line of the Mare, on which there is a peak rising to more than 14,000 feet above the surface.

FRACASTORIUS.--This great bay or inflexion at the extreme S. end of the Mare Nectaris, about 60 miles in diameter, is one of the largest and most suggestive examples of a partially destroyed formation to be found on the visible surface. The W. section of the rampart is practically complete and unbroken, rising at one peak to a height of 6000 feet above the interior. It is very broad at its S. end, and its inner slope descends with a gentle gradient to the floor. Towards the N., however, it rapidly decreases in width, but apparently not in altitude, till near its bright pointed N. extremity. Under a low sun, some long deformed crateriform depressions may be seen on the slope, and a bright little crater on the crest of the border near its N. end. The southern rampart is broken by three large craters, and a fine valley, running some distance in a S. direction, which diminishes gradually in width till it ultimately resembles a cleft, and terminates at a small crater. The E. border is very lofty and irregular, rising at the N. corner of the large triangular formation, which is such a prominent feature upon it, to a height of 7000 feet, and at a point on the S.E. to considerably more than 8000 feet above the floor. N. of the former peak it becomes much lower and narrower, and is finally only represented by a very attenuated strip of wall, hardly more prominent than the brighter portions of the border of Stadius at sunrise, terminating at an obscure semi-ring-plain. Between this and the pointed N. termination of the W. border there is a wide gap, open to the north for a space of about 30 miles, appearing, except under very oblique illumination, as smooth and as devoid of detail as the grey surface of the Mare Nectaris itself. If, however, this interval is observed at sunrise or sunset, it is seen to be not quite so structureless as it appears under different conditions, for a number of mounds and large humpy swellings, with low hills and craterlets, extend across it, and occupy a position which we are justified in regarding as the site of a section of the rampart, which, from some cause or other, has been completely destroyed and overlaid with the material, whatever this may be, of the Mare Nectaris. The floor of Fracastorius is, as regards the light streaks and other features upon it, only second in interest to those of Plato and Archimedes, and will repay systematic observation. Between thirty and forty light spots and craters have been recorded on its surface, most of them, as in these formations, being situated either on or at the edges of the light streaks. On the higher portion of the interior (near the centre) is a curious object consisting apparently of four light spots, arranged in a square, with a craterlet in the middle, all of which undergo (as I have pointed out elsewhere) notable changes of aspect under different phases. There are at least two distinct clefts on the floor, one running from the W. wall towards the centre, and another on the S.E. side of the interior. The last throws out two branches towards the S.W.

ROSSE.--A fine bright deep crater in the Mare Nectaris, N. of the pointed termination of the W. wall of Fracastorius, with which it is connected by a bold curved ridge, with a crater upon it. A ray from Tycho, striking along the E. wall of Fracastorius passes near this object. A rill from near Bohnenberger terminates at this crater.

POLYBIUS.--A ring-plain, about 17 miles in diameter, in the hilly region S.E. of Fracastorius. The border is unbroken, except on the N., where it is interrupted by a group of depressions. There is a long valley on the S.W., at the bottom of which Schmidt shows a crater-chain.

NEANDER.--This ring-plain, 34 miles in diameter, a short distance W.S.W. of Piccolomini, has a somewhat deformed rampart, which, however, except on the N., where there is a narrow gap occupied by a small crater, is continuous. It rises on the E. nearly 8000 feet above the floor, on which there is a central mountain about 2500 feet high. Schmidt shows some minor hills, a large crater on the N.E. side, and three smaller craters in the interior.

PICCOLOMINI.--A ring-plain of a very massive type, about 57 miles in diameter, S. of Fracastorius, with complex and prominently terraced walls, surmounted by very many peaks; one of which on the E. attains a height of 14,000 feet, and another, N. of it, on the same side, an altitude of 15,000 feet above the interior. The crest of this grand rampart is tolerably continuous, except on the S.W., where, for a distance of twenty miles or more, its character as regards form and brightness is entirely changed. Under a low sun, instead of a continuous bright border, we note a wide gap occupied by a dusky rugged plateau, which falls with a gentle gradient to the floor, and is traversed by three or four parallel shallow valleys running towards the S. I can recall no lunar formation which presents an appearance at all like this: one is impressed with the idea that it has resulted from the collapse of the upper portion of the wall, and the flow of some viscous material over the wreck and down the inner slope. The difference between the reflective power of this matter, whatever may be its nature, and the broad bright declivities of the inner slopes, are beautifully displayed at sunset. The cross-valleys are more easily traced under low morning illumination; but to appreciate the actual structure of the wall, it should be observed under both phases. The N.W. section of the border includes many "pockets," or long elliptical depressions, which at an early stage of sunrise give a scalloped appearance to the crest. Except the great bright central mountain with its numerous peaks, there does not appear to be any prominent detail on the floor. There is a large ring-plain beyond the foot of the glacis on the W. with two craters on the E. side of it, another on the S., and a fine rill-valley running up to its N. side from near the crest of the W. wall. On the N. side of Piccolomini is a remarkable group of deformed and overlapping enclosures, mingled with numberless craters and little depressions. The plain on the N.E. is crossed by a fine cleft.

PONS.--A complete formation of irregular shape, about 20 miles in greatest diameter, on the S.E. side of the Altai range, in W. long. 21 deg. It consists of a crowd of rings and craters enclosed by a narrow wall.

STIBORIUS.--An elongated ring-plain, about 22 miles in diameter, S. of Piccolomini, with a lofty wall, broken in one place on the N. by a very conspicuous crater. Schmidt shows a distinct crater in the centre of the floor. I have only seen a central mountain in this position. There is a large crater on the N.W., a ring-plain on the S.W. side, and a multitude of little craters on the surrounding plain.

RICCIUS.--A ring-plain, 51 miles in diameter, of a very irregular type, S.E. of the last. It is enclosed by a complex wall (which is in places double), broken by large rings on the S. The very conspicuous little ring-plain Riccius A is situated on the N. of it, and other less prominent features. The interior includes a bright crater and some smaller objects of the same class.

ZAGUT.--The most easterly of a group of closely associated irregular walled-plains, of which Lindenau and Rabbi Levi are the other members, all evidently deformed and modified in shape by their proximity. It is about 45 miles in diameter, and is enclosed by a wall which on the S.W. attains a height of about 9500 feet, and is much broken on the N. by a number of depressions. A large ring-plain, some 20 miles in diameter, occupies a considerable portion of the W. side of the interior; E. of which, and nearly central, there is a large bright crater, but apparently no other conspicuous details. On the S.E. side of Zagut lies an elliptical ring-plain, about 28 miles in diameter, named by Schmidt CELSIUS. The border of this is open on the N., the gap being occupied by a large crater, whose S. wall is wanting, so that the interiors of both formations are in communication.

LINDENAU.--This formation, about 35 miles in diameter, is bounded on the W. by a regular unbroken wall nearly 8600 feet in height; but which on the E. and N.E. is far loftier and more complex, rising to about 12,000 feet above the floor, consisting of four or more distinct ramparts, separated by deep valleys, and extending towards Rabbi Levi. Neison points out that under a high light Lindenau appears to have a bright uniform single wall. There is a small central mountain and some minor inequalities in the interior.

RABBI LEVI.--A larger but less obvious formation than either of its neighbours, Zagut and Lindenau, abutting on the S. side of them. It is about 55 miles in diameter, and is enclosed by a border somewhat difficult to trace in its entirety, except under oblique light. There are some large craters within it, of which one on the N. side of the floor is especially prominent.

NICOLAI.--A tolerably regular ring-plain, 18 miles in diameter, S. of Riccius, with a border, rising more than 6000 feet above a level floor, on the N. side of which Schmidt shows a minute crater. The bright plain surrounding this formation abounds in small craters; and on the W. is a number of curious enclosures, many of them overlapping.

VLACQ.--A member of a magnificent group of closely associated formations situated on the greatly disturbed area between W. long. 30 deg. and 45 deg. and S. lat. 50 deg. and 60 deg. It is 57 miles in diameter, and is enclosed by terraced walls, rising on the W. about 8000 feet, and on the E. more than 10,000 feet above the floor. They are broken on the S. by a fine crater. In addition to a conspicuous central peak, there are several small craters, and low short ridges in the interior.