The Moon Hoax

This book collects a series of six articles published in the New York Sun newspaper beginning on August 25, 1835. The articles report on the supposed discovery of life—and an extraterrestrial civilization—on the Moon. The discoveries were falsely attributed to Sir John Herschel, perhaps the best-known astronomer of his time. The articles have been attributed to Richard Adams Locke, who never publicly admitted to being the author. Locke likely intended to create a sensational story which would increase sales of the New York Sun, while also ridiculing some of the more extravagant astronomical theories recently published. Even after the hoax was discovered, the New York Sun did not issue a retraction.



This book was created from a scan of the original artifact, and as such the text of the book is not selectable or searchable.