The Moon-Voyage, page 29
INTRODUCTION.
PRELIMINARY CHAPTER.
CONTAINING A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE FIRST PART OF THIS WORK TO SERVE ASPREFACE TO THE SECOND.
During the course of the year 186---- the entire world was singularlyexcited by a scientific experiment without precedent in the annals ofscience. The members of the Gun Club, a circle of artillerymenestablished at Baltimore after the American war, had the idea of puttingthemselves in communication with the moon--yes, with the moon--bysending a bullet to her. Their president, Barbicane, the promoter of theenterprise, having consulted the astronomers of the CambridgeObservatory on this subject, took all the precautions necessary for thesuccess of the extraordinary enterprise, declared practicable by themajority of competent people. After having solicited a publicsubscription which produced nearly 30,000,000 of francs, it began itsgigantic labours.
According to the plan drawn up by the members of the observatory, thecannon destined to hurl the projectile was to be set up in some countrysituated between the 0 deg. and 28 deg. of north or south latitude in order toaim at the moon at the zenith. The bullet was to be endowed with aninitial velocity of 12,000 yards a second. Hurled on the 1st of Decemberat thirteen minutes and twenty seconds to eleven in the evening, it wasto get to the moon four days after its departure on the 5th of Decemberat midnight precisely, at the very instant she would be at herperigee--that is to say, nearest to the earth, or at exactly 86,410leagues' distance.
The principal members of the Gun Club, the president, Barbicane, MajorElphinstone, the secretary, J.T. Maston, and other _savants_, heldseveral meetings, in which the form and composition of the bullet werediscussed, as well as the disposition and nature of the cannon, and thequality and quantity of the powder to be employed. It was decided--1,that the projectile should be an obus of aluminium, with a diameter of800 inches; its sides were to be 12 inches thick, and it was to weigh19,250 lbs.; 2, that the cannon should be a cast-iron Columbiad 900 feetlong, and should be cast at once in the ground; 3, that the chargeshould consist of 400,000 lbs. of gun-cotton, which, by developing6,000,000,000 litres of gas under the projectile, would carry it easilytowards the Queen of Night.
These questions settled, President Barbicane, aided by the engineer,Murchison, chose a site in Florida in 27 deg. 7' north lat. and 5 deg. 7' westlong. It was there that after marvels of labour the Columbiad was castquite successfully.
Things were at that pass when an incident occurred which Increased theinterest attached to this great enterprise.
A Frenchman, a regular Parisian, an artist as witty as audacious, askedleave to shut himself up in the bullet in order to reach the moon andmake a survey of the terrestrial satellite. This intrepid adventurer'sname was Michel Ardan. He arrived in America, was received withenthusiasm, held meetings, was carried in triumph, reconciled PresidentBarbicane to his mortal enemy, Captain Nicholl, and in pledge of thereconciliation he persuaded them to embark with him in the projectile.
The proposition was accepted. The form of the bullet was changed. Itbecame cylindro-conical. They furnished this species of aerialcompartment with powerful springs and breakable partitions to break thedeparting shock. It was filled with provisions for one year, water forsome months, and gas for some days. An automatic apparatus made and gaveout the air necessary for the respiration of the three travellers. Atthe same time the Gun Club had a gigantic telescope set up on one of thehighest summits of the Rocky Mountains, through which the projectilecould be followed during its journey through space. Everything was thenready.
On the 30th of November, at the time fixed, amidst an extraordinaryconcourse of spectators, the departure took place, and for the firsttime three human beings left the terrestrial globe for theinterplanetary regions with almost the certainty of reaching their goal.
These audacious travellers, Michel Ardan, President Barbicane, andCaptain Nicholl were to accomplish their journey in ninety-seven hoursthirteen minutes and twenty seconds; consequently they could not reachthe lunar disc until the 5th of December, at midnight, at the precisemoment that the moon would be full, and not on the 4th, as somewrongly-informed newspapers had given out.
But an unexpected circumstance occurred; the detonation produced by theColumbiad had the immediate effect of disturbing the terrestrialatmosphere, where an enormous quantity of vapour accumulated. Thisphenomenon excited general indignation, for the moon was hidden duringseveral nights from the eyes of her contemplators.
The worthy J.T. Maston, the greatest friend of the three travellers, setout for the Rocky Mountains in the company of the Honourable J. Belfast,director of the Cambridge Observatory, and reached the station of Long'sPeak, where the telescope was set up which brought the moon, apparently,to within two leagues. The honourable secretary of the Gun Club wishedto observe for himself the vehicle that contained his audacious friends.
The accumulation of clouds in the atmosphere prevented all observationduring the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th of December. It was eventhought that no observation could take place before the 3rd of Januaryin the following year, for the moon, entering her last quarter on the11th, would after that not show enough of her surface to allow the traceof the projectile to be followed.
But at last, to the general satisfaction, a strong tempest during thenight between the 11th and 12th of December cleared the atmosphere, andthe half-moon was distinctly visible on the dark background of the sky.
That same night a telegram was sent from Long's Peak Station by J.T.Maston and Belfast to the staff of the Cambridge Observatory.
This telegram announced that on the 11th of December, at 8.47 p.m., theprojectile hurled by the Columbiad of Stony Hill had been perceived byMessrs. Belfast and J.T. Maston, that the bullet had deviated from itscourse through some unknown cause, and had not reached its goal, but hadgone near enough to be retained by lunar attraction; that itsrectilinear movement had been changed to a circular one, and that it wasdescribing an elliptical orbit round the moon, and had become hersatellite.
The telegram added that the elements of this new star had not yet beencalculated--in fact, three observations, taking a star in threedifferent positions, are necessary to determine them. Then it statedthat the distance separating the projectile from the lunar surface"might be" estimated at about 2,833 leagues, or 4,500 miles.
It ended with the following double hypothesis:--Either the attraction ofthe moon would end by carrying the day, and the travellers would reachtheir goal; or the projectile, fixed in an immutable orbit, wouldgravitate around the lunar disc to the end of time.
In either of these alternatives what would be the travellers' fate? Itis true they had provisions enough for some time. But even supposingthat their bold enterprise were crowned with success, how would theyreturn? Could they ever return? Would news of them ever reach the earth?These questions, debated upon by the most learned writers of the time,intensely interested the public.
A remark may here be made which ought to be meditated upon by tooimpatient observers. When a _savant_ announces a purely speculativediscovery to the public he cannot act with too much prudence. No one isobliged to discover either a comet or a satellite, and those who make amistake in such a case expose themselves justly to public ridicule.Therefore it is better to wait; and that is what impatient J.T. Mastonought to have done before sending to the world the telegram which,according to him, contained the last communication about thisenterprise.
In fact, the telegram contained errors of two sorts, verified later:--1.Errors of observation concerning the distance of the projectile from thesurface of the moon, for upon the date of the 11th of December it wasimpossible to perceive it, and that which J.T. Maston had seen, orthought he saw, could not be the bullet from the Columbiad. 2. Atheoretic error as to the fate of the said projectile, for making it asatellite of the moon was an absolute contradiction of the laws ofrational mechanics.
One hypothesis only made by the astronomers of Long's Peak might berealised, the one that foresaw the case when the travellers--if any yetexisted--should unite their efforts with the lunar attraction so as toreach the surface of the disc.
Now these men, as intelligent as they were bold, had survived theterrible shock at departure, and their journey in their bullet-carriagewill be related in its most dramatic as well as in its most singulardetails. This account will put an end to many illusions and previsions,but it will give a just idea of the various circumstances incidental tosuch an enterprise, and will set in relief Barbicane's scientificinstincts, Nicholl's industrial resources, and the humorous audacity ofMichel Ardan.
Besides, it will prove that their worthy friend J.T. Maston was losinghis time when, bending over the gigantic telescope, he watched thecourse of the moon across the planetary regions.
