Chapter 12 Chapter Eleven Fantasy and Realism

"Have you never seen the moon?" A professor once asked one of his students sarcastically. "No, no, sir," replied the student, with greater sarcasm, "but it must be said that I have heard people speak of the moon. " In fact, in a sense, the vast majority of people who live in the "Moon Shining Ding" will give such an interesting answer like this student. Although many people have heard people talk about the moon, they have never seen it...at least never Haven't seen the moon with a telescope! How many people have never even seen a topographic map of their satellite1

Seeing the topographic map of the moon, there is one feature that cannot fail to attract attention.Contrary to the layout of Earth and Mars, many lunar continents are concentrated in the southern hemisphere.These continents are not as well-defined and well-proportioned as South America, Africa, and the Indian Peninsula.The edges of the lunar continent are protruding, unpredictable and fragmented, with bays and peninsulas everywhere.It is easy to think of other archipelagos with complex topography, where all the land is divided into many small pieces.If sailing on the moon must be particularly difficult and dangerous, the sailors set sail on such rough coasts, and the hydrologists deserve our sympathy when they chart the topography of these dangerous coasts.

We'll also notice that there is much more landmass at the Moon's south pole than at its north pole.The North Pole has only one piece of land like a small round cap, surrounded by sea, completely isolated from other continents.In Antarctica, the continent covers almost the entire southern hemisphere.The Moonmen, therefore, may well have planted their flags at the South Pole, but neither the Franklins, the Keiths, the Deamon Devilles, nor the Lamberts have yet reached this inescapable part of the earth. known location. As for the islands on the moon, there are really countless.Almost all of these islands seem to be planned out with circles, either elliptical or perfectly round, forming a vast archipelago, almost comparable to those islands scattered between Greece and Asia Minor. The many islands in ancient mythology Beautiful legends animate these islands, and when we think of Naxos, Tenedos, Milos, and Karpados, we cannot help turning our eyes to the legend of Ulysses. The warship or the "sheep shears" of the Argus. "At least that's what Michel Ardan said: he saw nothing but a group of Greek islands on a lunar map. To his two less fanciful friends, the shape of these coasts was rather Fragmented terrain like New Brunswick and Nova Scotia: yet where the French tracked down the whereabouts of their mythical heroes, two Americans pinpointed suitable sites for lunar industrial and commercial cities.

Before we conclude our description of the continental parts of the Moon, we should say a few words about its mountainous formations.We were able to clearly distinguish mountains, lonely ridges, craters and trenches.All the highs and lows on the moon are in this region.These mountains are very steep.In one place there seems to be an infinite Switzerland, in another a continuous Norway, all of which arose during the formation of igneous rocks.The unevenness of the Moon's surface is due to the contraction of the body as it began to form.The lunar surface is conducive to the study of all kinds of strange phenomena in geology.According to some astronomers, although the surface of the moon is older than the surface of the earth in terms of time, it is still in its infancy in essence.Here, the original mountains have not been eroded by water. Generally speaking, the erosion of water, which has a long history, can play a leveling effect.At the same time, it is not subject to the weathering effect of the air, so the shape of the mountain will never change.Here, igneous rocks cannot become sedimentary rocks, so the moon's mountainous form will always maintain its original purity.The same is true before the earth has not been eroded by tides and ocean currents, and sediments have not covered the surface.

Our eyes roam for a while over these vast continents, before being drawn to still wider oceans.Not only are the shapes, layouts, and forms of these oceans reminiscent of oceans on Earth, but also, like Earth, oceans occupy most of the Moon.But these were not fluid seas, but vast plains, the nature of which we three travelers hoped to be able to ascertain before long. We have to admit that astronomers have given these "seas" many names that at least the scientific community has always considered strange.Michelle.Comparing this picture of the moon with a "charm of tenderness" drawn by a Madame Scuderi or a Monsieur Cyrano de Bergerac, Ardan felt that he was justified.

"It's just that it's no longer the 'feeling map' of the 17th century, but a 'life map'. Here, the moon world is split into two, one side belongs to the feminine, and the other belongs to the masculine. On the right is the woman's The world, on the left is the man's world!" As Michel spoke, he shrugged his shoulders at his two prose companions.Barbicane and Nicholl approached the map of the moon quite differently from their fanciful friend.Still, their fantasy-loving friends are not without reason.Leave it to the reader to judge. There is a "sea of ​​clouds" in the left hemisphere. How many times has human reason been immersed in this sea of ​​clouds.Not far away is a "Sea of ​​Rain", which is a sea formed by the infinite troubles of life.Another "sea of ​​storm" was excavated next to it. Here, a person is fighting against his own lust, but it is often the latter who wins the final victory.And then disappointments, betrayals, treachery, and the continual misery of the world wear him out, and what has he found in the last phase of his life?He found the vast and boundless "Sea of ​​Humor", and finally tasted a few drops of nectar in "Dew Bay"!Clouds, rain, storms, humor, what else is there in life?Isn't it all included in these four words?

In the right hemisphere, "dedicated to women," the seas are smaller, and their descriptive names sum up all the changes in a woman's life.A young girl leans over to stare at the "Sea of ​​Tranquility", and the "Lake of Dreams" reflects a smiling future.In the "sea of ​​wine", there are waves of tenderness and breeze of love everywhere!Then comes the "Sea of ​​Breeding", "Sea of ​​Danger", and then "Sea of ​​Fog", but this sea seems to be too small, and finally the "Sea of ​​Tranquility", where all vain passions, futile dreams, and unsatisfied passions lie It was washed away here, and then slowly flowed into the "Dead Sea" following the waves of the sea!

What a strange sequence of names!It is also very rare to divide the moon into two different hemispheres like this at the same time!But the two hemispheres join together like man and woman, forming the round sphere of life, which is carried into space.Is there no reason for the visionary Michel to explain the fantasies of those ancient astronomers in this way? But while his fancy was thus running wild in those lunar seas, his two solemn companions saw everything geographically.About this new world, they have already memorized it by heart.Currently they are measuring angles and diameters. For Barbicane and Nicholl, the "sea of ​​clouds" is nothing but an endless low-lying area, full of craters; it occupies a vast area in the western part of the southern hemisphere, covering an area of ​​184,800 square miles. The center is located at fifteen degrees south latitude and twenty degrees west longitude. "Sea of ​​Storms" is the largest plain on the surface of the moon, with an area of ​​328,300 square miles, and its center is located at ten degrees north latitude and four one five degrees east longitude. Kepler and Aris stand in the center Dak these two stunning radiant mountains.

A few mountains to the north of the "Sea of ​​Clouds" is the "Sea of ​​Rain", with its center at 35 degrees north latitude and 20 degrees east longitude: it is almost round in shape and covers an area of ​​193,000 square miles.Not far away is the "Sea of ​​Humor", a pond of only 44,200 square miles, located at 25 degrees south latitude and 40 degrees east longitude.Finally, on the coast of the southern hemisphere there are "Scorching Bay", "Dewwater Bay" and "Cartail Bay", all of which are small bays sandwiched between deep mountains.

The hemisphere belonging to the woman is changeable, and it is characterized by many seas but a small area.To the north is the "Cold Sea", which is located at 55 degrees north latitude and 0 degrees longitude, with an area of ​​76,000 square miles. It is bordered by the "Dead Sea" and "Dream Sea". Longitude 20°, with an area of ​​86,000 square miles/Danghai” is clearly defined as a round sea, located at 16° north latitude and 55° west longitude, with an area of ​​40,000 square miles, like mountains The surrounding Caspian Sea is the same. The following is the "Quiet Sea", located at the equator at 5 degrees north latitude and 25 degrees west longitude, with an area of ​​121,502 square miles. It is 28,800 square miles, located at 15 degrees south latitude and 32 degrees west latitude. To the east is the "breeding sea", which has the largest area of ​​219,300 square miles. , at three degrees south latitude and fifty degrees west longitude.Finally, there is a sea in the northernmost and southernmost part of this hemisphere. The northern one is called "Humboldt Sea" with an area of ​​6,500 square miles, and the southern one is called "South Sea" with an area of ​​26,000 square miles. inside.

In the center of the lunar disk, there is a long and narrow "central bay" across the equator, located on: the zero degree meridian, like a hyphen between the two hemispheres. According to Nicholl and Barbicane, the side of the earth's satellite that we can see is composed in this way.After careful calculation, they found that the area of ​​the hemisphere of the moon is 4,728,160 square miles, of which 3,317,600 square miles are volcanoes, mountains, craters, and islands. , which is the solid part of the moon, and the other 1,410,400 square miles are seas, lakes, and swamps, that is, the part with water.But all this the venerable Michel considers irrelevant. We can see that this hemisphere is only 1/13.5 of the Earth's hemisphere.However, lunar scientists have found more than 50,000 craters.It can be seen that the surface of the moon is bulging and full of cracks, just like a colander, no wonder the British gave it a not very poetic nickname: "developmental cheese". Michel Ardan, therefore, jumped with indignation at the mention of this nickname by Barbicane. This is how the Anglo-Saxons of the nineteenth century treated fair Diana, fair-haired Phoebe, lovely Isis, charming Astarus, Queen of Night, daughter of Latona and Jupiter, full-faced The attitude of Red Light's sister of Apollo.