His
singular opportunity for correct observation allowed him to entertain no
doubt whatever on the subject. Hampered by no atmosphere, he was free
from all liability to optical illusion. Satisfied therefore as to the
reality of these tints, he considered such knowledge a positive gain to
science. But that greenish tint--to what was it due? To a dense tropical
vegetation maintained by a low atmosphere, a mile or so in thickness?
Possibly. But this was another question that could not be answered at
present.
Further on he could detect here and there traces of a decidedly ruddy
tint. Such a shade he knew had been already detected in the _Palus
Somnii_, near _Mare Crisium_, and in the circular area of _Lichtenberg_,
near the _Hercynian Mountains_, on the eastern edge of the Moon. To what
cause was this tint to be attributed? To the actual color of the surface
itself? Or to that of the lava covering it here and there? Or to the
color resulting from the mixture of other colors seen at a distance too
great to allow of their being distinguished separately? Impossible to
tell.
Barbican and his companions succeeded no better at a new problem that
soon engaged their undivided attention.
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