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From the Earth to the Moon
Chapter XXVIII - A New Star
Jules Verne
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       Chapter XXVIII - A New Star
       That very night, the startling news so impatiently awaited,
       burst like a thunderbolt over the United States of the Union,
       and thence, darting across the ocean, ran through all the
       telegraphic wires of the globe. The projectile had been
       detected, thanks to the gigantic reflector of Long's Peak!
       Here is the note received by the director of the Observatory
       of Cambridge. It contains the scientific conclusion regarding
       this great experiment of the Gun Club.
       LONG'S PEAK, December 12.
       To the Officers of the Observatory of Cambridge.
       The projectile discharged by the Columbiad at Stones Hill has
       been detected by Messrs. Belfast and J. T. Maston, 12th of
       December, at 8:47 P.M., the moon having entered her last quarter.
       This projectile has not arrived at its destination. It has
       passed by the side; but sufficiently near to be retained by the
       lunar attraction.
       The rectilinear movement has thus become changed into a circular
       motion of extreme velocity, and it is now pursuing an elliptical
       orbit round the moon, of which it has become a true satellite.
       The elements of this new star we have as yet been unable to
       determine; we do not yet know the velocity of its passage.
       The distance which separates it from the surface of the moon
       may be estimated at about 2,833 miles.
       However, two hypotheses come here into our consideration.
       1. Either the attraction of the moon will end by drawing them
       into itself, and the travelers will attain their destination; or,
       2. The projectile, following an immutable law, will continue to
       gravitate round the moon till the end of time.
       At some future time, our observations will be able to determine
       this point, but till then the experiment of the Gun Club can
       have no other result than to have provided our solar system with
       a new star.
       J. BELFAST.
       To how many questions did this unexpected _denouement_ give rise?
       What mysterious results was the future reserving for the
       investigation of science? At all events, the names of Nicholl,
       Barbicane, and Michel Ardan were certain to be immortalized in
       the annals of astronomy!
       When the dispatch from Long's Peak had once become known, there
       was but one universal feeling of surprise and alarm. Was it
       possible to go to the aid of these bold travelers? No! for they
       had placed themselves beyond the pale of humanity, by crossing
       the limits imposed by the Creator on his earthly creatures.
       They had air enough for _two_ months; they had victuals enough
       for _twelve;-- but after that?_ There was only one man who
       would not admit that the situation was desperate-- he alone had
       confidence; and that was their devoted friend J. T. Maston.
       Besides, he never let them get out of sight. His home was
       henceforth the post at Long's Peak; his horizon, the mirror of
       that immense reflector. As soon as the moon rose above the
       horizon, he immediately caught her in the field of the
       telescope; he never let her go for an instant out of his
       sight, and followed her assiduously in her course through the
       stellar spaces. He watched with untiring patience the passage
       of the projectile across her silvery disc, and really the worthy
       man remained in perpetual communication with his three friends,
       whom he did not despair of seeing again some day.
       "Those three men," said he, "have carried into space all the
       resources of art, science, and industry. With that, one can do
       anything; and you will see that, some day, they will come out
       all right."
       Content of Chapter XXVIII - A New Star
       -THE END-
       Jules Verne's novel: From the Earth to the Moon
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