CHAPTER X
Fancies; Apparent Size; Superstitions; Influence on the Weather
It is probable that from prehistoric times men have noticed the face of the Man in the Moon. The first reference we find to it is by the historian Plutarch, who, surprising as it may seem, wrote a whole book on the Face in the Moon. The face is not a very good one, and when we look at the photographs we wonder how we can see it at all. The explanation seems to be that the Oceanus Procellarum, being very near the limb, is only seen by the naked eye as a faint shading, if seen at all; and eliminating this, the remaining maria more nearly resemble a human face. This fading out of dark objects near the limb has an interesting bearing on the telescopic drawings of Mars, which always show the same effect. This fading has hitherto been generally ascribed exclusively to the absorption of the atmosphere of Mars, but it would appear that the phenomenon is probably also due in some part to this subjective effect.
But besides the face numerous other objects are supposed to be visible—such, for instance, as the faggot-gatherer, which is really poorer than the face itself. There seems to be no general agreement as to its location upon the Moon. The Chinese liken the dark markings to a monkey pounding rice, in India they are said to resemble a rabbit, while the Persians say they represent our own oceans and continents reflected as in a mirror. It was once suggested to me by a friend that the dark markings looked a good deal Uke Britannia as represented on the English penny—the Mare Imbrium corresponding to the shield, and even the lighthouse and ship being visible. It is probable that the discoverer first noticed the resemblance in the Southern Hemisphere, where the Moon appears turned upside down.
In the year 1900 M. Flammarion collected in the "Bulletin de la Société de France" a series of sketches by different persons, some showing what they really saw in the Moon with the naked eye and some showing what they fancied they saw. The former are instructive, the latter amusing. Five of these last are given in Plate H, showing the face, the crab, the girl reading, the donkey, and the lady. The last sketch is more artistic than scientific, yet that it has a certain basis of truth is shown by the drawing
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