We all recognize it, but who knows how it got there?

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 542.

THE BIRTH OF THE MOON

Science fiction writers could not have dreamed up as strange an idea as the moon. Although it is earth's closest friend in space, it is completely foreign to us.

The moon has almost no colour but has huge areas of broken white rock that raise up from flat grey plains of lava. Although there are romantic names for these areas, such as the Sea of Tranquility, there are no seas and no oceans on the moon. There is also no air. The moon is indeed an empty place. While the side that we see is covered in dark plains, the other side is like a battlefield, full of craters.

Despite centuries of study, astronomers are still puzzled by our nearest neighbour. What created the plains and the craters? Where, in fact, did the moon come from? The great astronomer George Darwin realized that the moon was slowly moving away from the earth. He suggested that billions of years ago, the earth and the moon were once a single planet. He also thought that this single planet began to turn so fast that a section broke away and was thrown into space. That section then became the moon.

One of Darwin's theories has been confirmed, almost a century after he put it forward. When the Apollo astronauts reached the moon, they put special mirrors on the surface. Later, by using these mirrors to measure exact distances, they discovered that the moon was moving away from the earth at a rate of four centimetres per year.

20^th century astronomers, though, have come up with two other theories that oppose Darwin's. One possibility is that the earth and moon were born as neighbours, from different parts of a single cloud of gas and dust. Or perhaps the moon was once a planet on its own right, which lost its way and came so close to the earth that the increasing gravity of our planet captured it.

Astronomers waited anxiously for moon rocks to be brought back to earth so they could test these theories. In fact, they were all wrong! Although the moon is made of the same chemical matter as the earth, moon rocks have far less potassium, zinc and iron than the earth. So the moon could not have broken off from the earth – or have been formed from the same cloud of gas or dust. The moon is also so different from the planets like Venus or Mars that it is unlikely to be part of another planetary system captured by the earth.

Some other clues, however, have led to a theory of a violent beginning for the moon – and astronomers have called it the Big Splash theory. They believe that the moon was created when another planet, about the size of Mars, crashed into the earth.

Scientists also believe that at some point in history the moon was repeatedly hit by large pieces of rock left over from the birth of the solar system. The largest ones blasted out holes up to 1,000 kilometres across. These holes created the markings which we now call the face of the Man in the Moon.

The text under analysis is a popular-scientific article which is devoted to one of the natural phenomenon of our reality, the Moon. The main idea of the article is that though everybody knows about the existence of the Moon and takes it for granted, in fact, it remains a puzzle even for the scientists. The main aim of the article is to give the reader some of the scientific information about the appearance of the Moon, so that to make an adequate concept of the celestial body which seems to be so natural that does not evoke any interest.

The title of the article “The Birth of the Moon” is direct and straightforward. It names the aspect of the problem which is going to be discussed in the article. The explanation under the title (we all recognize it, but who knows how it got there?) practically repeats the name of the article though in a simpler, but more emotional way. The under-title has the form of a rhetorical question which immediately provokes the reader's thinking making him realize that such a simple idea has never occurred to him because the Moon is so natural and habitual that everything must be known about it.

Lexical units used in the article belong to the terms or to the conceptual field “Universe”, for example, crater (a round hole in the surface formed by an explosion, falling meteor, etc.), lava (rock in a very hot liquid state flowing from a volcano when it has become cool and turned into a grey solid with many small holes), the solar system (the sun together with the planets going around it), gravity (the natural force by which objects are attracted to each other, especially that by which a large mass pulls a smaller one to it. It is one of the four fundamental forces of nature), potassium (a silver-white soft easily melted metal that is a simple substance. It is found in nature in large quantities but only in combination with other substances, such as in plants and rocks, and is necessary to the existence of all living things) and the like. Words belonging to the conceptual field are less specific in their meaning; they are of a more generalized character, for example, astronomer, astronaut, space, planet, etc.

The article contains some proper names that are the names of the planets of the solar system: Mars, Venus. They can be looked upon as an appeal to the reader's at least elementary knowledge of the structure of our galaxy.

The majority of the words in the article are of the neutral layer of the language used in their primary meaning.

The syntax of the article is presented by postulatory, argumentative and formulative patterns of sentences. The reader is got acquainted with the theory of George Darwin who “realized that the moon was slowly moving away from the earth. He suggested that billions of years ago, the earth and the moon were once a single planet. He also thought that this single planet began to turn so fast that a section broke away and was thrown into space. That section then became the moon.” The essence of Darwin's theory is given in the form of some postulates which need to be proved.

Argumentative part comes later when the scientific experiment was carried out by Apollo astronauts: “When the Apollo astronauts reached the moon, they put special mirrors on the surface. Later, by using these mirrors to measure the exact distances, they discovered that the moon was moving away from the earth at a rate of four centimetres per year.” Another argumentation is connected with the chemical structure of the rock of the moon: “Although the moon is made of the same chemical matter as the earth, moon rocks have far less potassium, zinc and iron than the earth.”

Formulative sentences demonstrate the conclusion to which the scientists have arrived: “So the moon could not have broken off from the earth – or have been formed from the same cloud of gas or dust. The moon is also so different from planets like Venus or Mars that it is unlikely to be part of another planetary system captured by the earth.”

As the article aims at if not creation then extension of the concept of the moon, the information is embodied in as objective and impersonal form as possible. Many of the sentences have references to different theories, for example, “One of Darwin's theories; 20^th century astronomers have come up with two other theories; some other clues have led to a theory; the Big Splash theory.” Impersonality is expressed by mentioning not individuals, but groups of people working on the problem. For example, “Apollo astronauts, astronomers, scientists” that shows rather international character of scientific study of the moon. Another feature of objective and impersonal narration is the use of the passive voice, for example, “While the side that we see is covered in dark plains; astronomers are still puzzled; a section broke away and was thrown into space; one of Darwin's theories has been confirmed; astronomers waited anxiously for moon rocks to be brought back to earth” and so on.

There are only a few examples of emotional treatment of the problem. Here belongs the very beginning of the article which sounds intrigue and exclusive. The introductory sentences are based on the exaggeration which is expressed through negation (science fiction writers could not have dreamed up), the superlative degree of the adjective (earth's closest friend) and the particularizing adverb (completely foreign). Such a beginning looks very much provoking thinking and moreover arouses some kind of a protest in the reader as it is next to impossible to imagine that we really do not know much about the moon. On the other hand, this makes the article and the forthcoming information more attractive to the reader. There is always a temptation to check whether one's personal knowledge is as wide as he himself thinks.

One more emotional passage is connected with the anticipation of the test results of the theories of the birth of the moon. The exclamation “In fact, they were all wrong!” shows both bewilderment and disappointment. It underlines that scientific research is not only theoretical supposition, but also practical work that really proves whether theoretical prediction is made on the correct estimation of the already known facts.

The article under consideration is a vivid example of popular-scientific prose which aims at creating new concepts with wide circles of readers. Such works have exclusive educational value. With the help of popular-scientific articles the interest to a certain sphere of knowledge may be aroused. At the same time it is one of the ways of bringing up a mentally and spiritually developed personality.

The comparison of literary works and articles has made it clear that the linguistic means are of great importance in creating a definite image or a certain attitude towards the facts of concrete reality. The deep penetration into various aspects of life can be achieved both by rational and emotional abilities of a person. Actually, there is no strict borderline between the two spheres which are usually referred to as the mind of a human being. They are interdependent and so closely connected that it is only the magnificent power of the language that is able to express both.