On August 25, 1835, The New York Sun published the first of six sensational front-page articles detailing extraordinary astronomical discoveries allegedly made by Sir John Herschel, the premier astronomer of his day. According to the articles, Herschel had constructed an immense telescope using a 24-foot lens in South Africa, allowing him to view the lunar surface in granular detail. Readers were captivated by vivid descriptions of sapphire-colored oceans, bipedal beavers building fires, horned violet goats, and vespertilio-homo—furry, bat-winged humanoids who built temples and engaged in peaceful conversation.
The author, reporter Richard Adams Locke, intended the series as a satirical parodic jab at popular religious science writers like Thomas Dick, who argued that every celestial body was inhabited. However, the public took the accounts entirely at face value. The articles skyrocketed the Sun's circulation past 19,000 copies, making it the most widely read newspaper in the world at the time.
Rival papers rushed to reprint the stories, and even a team of scientists from Yale University traveled to New York to inspect the original reports. Herschel himself was completely unaware of the hoax until months later, expressing mild amusement at first before becoming irritated by endless questions from confused believers. The Sun never formally issued a retraction, admitting weeks later that the stories were merely a whimsical fantasy, yet its readers were so thoroughly entertained that subscription sales barely dipped.