The Earth’s Shadow on the Moon

The Earth Review, No. 5, October 1895

The moon doesn’t cause a shadow like this.

  The so-called shadow is not always round, it was once noticed to be “ a dark isosceles triangular shape;” but a straight object would give a curved shadow upon a sphere as you may prove by holding a straight-edge before an apple by gas light, but it has never been shewn that the Earth could possibly cast a shadow on the Moon. If the Earth cut off the Sun’s light from the Moon, the Moon ought to go quite dark during the eclipse, but it does not, its light shines through the supposed shadow. Parallax thought—that—a semi-opaque but dark Moon came between us and the luminous Moon and so caused the lunar eclipse. Astronomers admit that there are dark bodies in the Sky.

It may be the Moon is “ eclipsed ” by getting into a mass of “ thick darkness ” which revolves around and over the Earth in an opposite direction to the Sun, this thick dry foggy atmosphere obscures the Moon’s rays but does not obliterate them. It cannot be admitted that the “ Earth’s Shadow” causes an eclipse, because Sun and Moon have both been seen above the horizon during an Eclipse of the Moon, and we know from other sources that these Bodies revolve over a Plane Earth. B. Blount.

The Creator of the Moon declared—and thereby confirmed as absolute truth, the inspired account as given by the Holy Spirit in Gen. i., 16—that the Moon’s light is an inherent light, hence Moonlight (Matt, xxiv., 29). This is confirmed by every practical investigation. Is there a scientist living who would try to “ eclipse ” the light of a policeman’s bulls-eye lantern by putting a globe between it and another? Besides; and this should never be lost sight of, the so-called “ shadow” always commences to eclipse the Moon from the East side, therefore overtaking, and passing on in the same direction as the Moon is travelling ! But, if the so-called shadow proof—alas ! its only a shadow ! — of globularity was an absolute proof; and not a mere “ hypothesis to explain phenomenon,” then the shadow would meet the Moon and not overtake it as it dbes. Again, the speed of the earth in its orbit compared with the speed of the Moon in its orbit, utterly, from a

globular stand point, proves the falseness of the so-called proof and for ever closes the mouths of all opponents ! They claim that the earth is travelling in an orbit round the sun at the “ rate of 68,305 miles an hour, ’ ’ while the Moon is travelling in an orbit round the earth, and consequently must of necessity move faster than the earth or about 180,000 miles an hour. It is therefore utterly impossible that the shadow travelling at the rate of 68,305 miles an hour can overtake the moon travelling at 180,000 miles an hour. What an infinite difference is shewn to exist between absolute

fact, and conjectural and illogical theory.