The Great Moon Hoax of 1835
September 2016 :
As we ramp up to celebrate this year's International Observe the Moon night October 8th, we have to look at one aspect of it: How its presence has affected us here on Earth. We often think of it as beautiful, romantic, or, of course, an object of scientific importance. But, in 1835, our Moon suddenly became an object of both a money grab, and a potential ruin to the reputation of one of the 19th century's most important scientists.
With the 1835 coming of Halley's Comet, John Herschel, son of William and nephew of Caroline, was in South Africa, intending to photograph the comet in as good observing conditions as possible. Unfortunately for him, though, one of the daily penny newspapers so popular in New York City, The Sun, in attempts to retain as much readership as possible in the city's world of competition, created a “news story” by “Dr. Andrew Grant,” a fictitious colleague of Herschel, stating that Herschel, with a new and improved telescope, was able to discern features on the Moon never before seen: trees, rivers, beautiful landscapes. In addition, he viewed creatures never before imagined on the Earth: human-sized, two-legged beavers, unicorns, even men with incredible wings, resembling those of bats.
Many readers were taken in by this. Even scientists from a reputable Connecticut University did their best to follow up on the story, not realizing it was a hoax. The paper didn't admit to this until a month later; however, in South Africa Herschel was visited by a colleague who asked about his “discoveries,” not realizing he had been set up by a rag newspaper looking for profits. Upon his return to England, Herschel was treated with skepticism concerning his real research for quite a while, until final confirmation of the hoax was sent “across the pond.”
Fortunately, with our several manned missions to the Moon, not one astronaut has met up with any humanoid bat creatures or beavers capable of seeing eye-to-eye with anyone, but this does serve to remind us that, even today, we must be careful with what we consider the truth, and do our best not to create scandalous research by any reputable scientists. However, with respect to the Moon, we can still enjoy it as a neighbor that is able to fill our lives with wonder and happiness, as we take time to observe it as often as we can.
