The instant you look through your glass at the Moon the man which shows so plainly to the naked eye vanishes like a coin in a magician’s fingers and instead you will see a new world covered with plains and mountains.
But if you will look at the Moon when it is nine or more days old, you will see with the aid of your glass and a little imagination the Moon girl, as shown in [Fig. 161]. You should have no trouble in finding her, for the Apennines form her crown while Tycho shines upon her breast like a great yellow diamond.
Fig. 160.—Map of the Moon.
Fig. 161.—The Moon Girl.
There is another crater mountain which you should by all means know and that is Copernicus[2] (pronounced Ko-per´-ni-kus). Look through your glass at the southeastern end of the Apennines and you will see a crater that is larger in diameter than Tycho, though it is not so deep. Tycho, Copernicus and the Apennines will serve you well as landmarks if you follow up the explorations of the Moon which you have so well begun.
The Sun.—You can see the spots on the Sun quite well with your glass, and sunspots are always interesting.
Do not try to look at the Sun through your glass without covering the eyepiece either with a thickly smoked or dark-colored glass. You must also use smoked or colored glasses over your eyepiece when you are looking at an eclipse of the Sun.
You should look for sunspots this year, 1920, for they are decreasing in number and size and in a few years there will be scarcely any. After that there will be more of them again.