by Jules Verne
PRELIMINARY CHAPTER.
RECAPITULATING THE FIRST PART OF THIS WORK, AND SERVING AS A PREFACE TO THE SECOND.
During the year 186--, the whole world was greatly excited by a scientificexperiment unprecedented in the annals of science. The members of theGun Club, a circle of artillerymen formed at Baltimore after the Americanwar, conceived the idea of putting themselves in communication with themoon!--yes, with the moon,--by sending to her a projectile. Theirpresident, Barbicane, the promoter of the enterprise, having consultedthe astronomers of the Cambridge Observatory upon the subject, took allnecessary means to ensure the success of this extraordinary enterprise,which had been declared practicable by the majority of competent judges.After setting on foot a public subscription, which realized nearly1,200,000_l._ they began the gigantic work.
According to the advice forwarded from the members of the Observatory,the gun destined to launch the projectile had to be fixed in a countrysituated between the 0 and 28th degrees of north or south latitude, inorder to aim at the moon when at the zenith; and its initiatory velocitywas fixed at twelve thousand yards to the second. Launched on the 1stof December, at 10hrs. 46m. 40s. p.m., it ought to reach the moon fourdays after its departure, that is on the 5th of December, at midnightprecisely, at the moment of her attaining her _perigee_, that is hernearest distance from the earth, which is exactly 86,410 leagues (French),or 238,833 miles _mean distance_ (English).
The principal members of the Gun Club, President Barbicane, MajorElphinstone, the secretary Joseph T. Maston, and other learned men, heldseveral meetings, at which the shape and composition of the projectilewere discussed, also the position and nature of the gun, and the qualityand quantity of the powder to be used. It was decided: 1st, that theprojectile should be a shell made of aluminium with a diameter of 108inches and a thickness of twelve inches to its walls; and should weigh19,250 lbs. 2ndly, that the gun should be a Columbiad cast in iron,900 feet long, and run perpendicularly into the earth. 3rdly, that thecharge should contain 400,000 pounds of gun-cotton, which, giving outsix billions of litres of gas in rear of the projectile, would easilycarry it towards the orb of night.
These questions determined President Barbicane, assisted by Murchisonthe engineer, to choose a spot situated in Florida, in 27 deg. 7' Northlatitude, and 77 deg. 3' West (Greenwich) longitude. It was on this spot,after stupendous labour, that the Columbiad was cast with full success.Things stood thus, when an incident took place which increased theinterest attached to this great enterprise a hundredfold.
A Frenchman, an enthusiastic Parisian, as witty as he was bold, askedto be enclosed in the projectile, in order that he might reach the moon,and reconnoitre this terrestrial satellite. The name of this intrepidadventurer was Michel Ardan. He landed in America, was received withenthusiasm, held meetings, saw himself carried in triumph, reconciledPresident Barbicane to his mortal enemy, Captain Nicholl, and, as atoken of reconciliation, persuaded them both to start with him in theprojectile. The proposition being accepted, the shape of the projectilewas slightly altered. It was made of a cylindro-conical form. This speciesof aerial car was lined with strong springs and partitions to deaden theshock of departure. It was provided with food for a year, water for somemonths, and gas for some days. A self-acting apparatus supplied the threetravellers with air to breathe. At the same time, on one of the highestpoints of the Rocky Mountains, the Gun Club had a gigantic telescopeerected, in order that they might be able to follow the course of theprojectile through space. All was then ready.
On the 30th November, at the hour fixed upon, from the midst of anextraordinary crowd of spectators, the departure took place; and for thefirst time, three human beings quitted the terrestrial globe, and launchedinto interplanetary space with almost a certainty of reaching theirdestination. These bold travellers, Michel Ardan, President Barbicane,and Captain Nicholl, ought to make the passage in ninety-seven hours,thirteen minutes, and twenty seconds. Consequently, their arrival onthe lunar disc could not take place until the 5th December at twelve atnight, at the exact moment when the moon should be full, and not on the4th, as some badly-informed journals had announced.
But an unforeseen circumstance, viz., the detonation produced bythe Columbiad, had the immediate effect of troubling the terrestrialatmosphere, by accumulating a large quantity of vapour, a phenomenonwhich excited universal indignation, for the moon was hidden from theeyes of the watchers for several nights.
The worthy Joseph T. Maston, the staunchest friend of the threetravellers, started for the Rocky Mountains, accompanied by the Hon. J.Belfast, director of the Cambridge Observatory, and reached the stationof Long's Peak, where the telescope was erected which brought the moonwithin an apparent distance of two leagues. The honorable secretary ofthe Gun Club wished himself to observe the vehicle of his daring friends.
The accumulation of clouds in the atmosphere prevented all observationson the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th of December. Indeed it wasthought that all observations would have to be put off to the 3rd ofJanuary in the following year; for the moon entering its last quarter onthe 11th, would then only present an ever-decreasing portion of her disc,insufficient to allow of their following the course of the projectile.
At length, to the general satisfaction, a heavy storm cleared theatmosphere on the night of the 11th and 12th December, and the moon, withhalf illuminated disc, was plainly to be seen upon the blacksky.
That very night a telegram was sent from the station of Long's Peakby Joseph T. Maston and Belfast to the gentlemen of the CambridgeObservatory, announcing that on the 11th of December at 8h. 47m. p.m.,the projectile launched by the Columbiad of Stones Hill had been detectedby Messrs. Belfast and Maston,--that it had deviated from its coursefrom some unknown cause, and had not reached its destination; but thatit had passed near enough to be retained by the lunar attraction; thatits rectilinear movement had been changed to a circular one, and thatfollowing an elliptical orbit round the star of night it had become its_satellite._ The telegram added that the elements of this new star hadnot yet been calculated; and indeed three observations made upon a starin three different positions are necessary to determine these elements.Then it showed that the distance separating the projectile from the lunarsurface "might" be reckoned at about 2833 miles.
It ended with this double hypothesis; either the attraction of the moonwould draw it to herself, and the travellers thus attain their end; orthat the projectile, held in one immutable orbit, would gravitate aroundthe lunar disc to all eternity.
With such alternatives, what would be the fate of the travellers?Certainly they had food for some time. But supposing they did succeedin their rash enterprise, how would they return? Could they ever return?Should they hear from them? These questions, debated by the most learnedpens of the day, strongly engrossed the public attention.
It is advisable here to make a remark which ought to be well consideredby hasty observers. When a purely speculative discovery is announced tothe public, it cannot be done with too much prudence. No one is obligedto discover either a planet, a comet, or a satellite; and whoever makesa mistake in such a case exposes himself justly to the derision of themass. Far better is it to wait; and that is what the impatient Joseph T.Maston should have done before sending this telegram forth to the world,which, according to his idea, told the whole result of the enterprise.Indeed this telegram contained two sorts of errors, as was provedeventually. 1st, errors of observation, concerning the distance of theprojectile from the surface of the moon, for on the 11th December it wasimpossible to see it; and what Joseph T. Maston had seen, or thought hesaw, could not have been the projectile of the Columbiad. 2ndly, errorsof theory on the fate in store for the said projectile; for in making ita satellite of the moon, it was putting it in direct contradiction toall mechanical laws.
One single hypothesis of the observers of Long's Peak could ever berealized, that which foresaw the case of the travellers (if still alive)uniting their efforts with the lunar attracti
on to attain the surface ofthe disc.
Now these men, as clever as they were daring, _had_ survived the terribleshock consequent on their departure, and it is their journey in theprojectile car which is here related in its most dramatic as well as inits most singular details. This recital will destroy many illusions andsurmises; but it will give a true idea of the singular changes in storefor such an enterprise; it will bring out the scientific instincts ofBarbicane, the industrious resources of Nicholl, and the audacious humourof Michel Ardan.
Besides this, it will prove that their worthy friend, Joseph T. Maston,was wasting his time, while leaning over the gigantic telescope hewatched the course of the moon through the starry space.