Since the superstition as to the moon's influence upon the wind and
weather is so widespread and deep seated, a word on that subject may
be in order. In the first place, since the total heat received from
the moon, even according to the highest determination (that of Smyth),
is not so much as 0.00001 of that received from the sun, and since the
only hold the moon has on the earth's weather is through the heat she
sends us (I ignore here the utterly insignificant atmospheric _tide_),
it follows necessarily that her influence _must_ be very trifling. In
the next place, all carefully collated observations show that it _is_
so, and not only trifling, but generally absolutely insensible.
For example, different investigators have examined the question of
nocturnal cloudiness at the time of full moon, there being a prevalent
belief that the full moon "eats up" light clouds. On comparing thirty
or forty years' observations at each of several stations (Greenwich.
Paris, etc.), it is found that there is no ground for the belief.
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