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explanation, gave it as his opinion that the projectile, held by the lunar
attraction, would end by falling on the surface of the terrestrial globe like
an aerolite.
"First of all, my friend," answered Barbicane, "every aerolite does not fall
to the earth; it is only a small proportion which do so; and if we had passed
into an aerolite, it does not necessarily follow that we should ever reach the
surface of the moon."
"But how if we get near enough?" replied Michel.
"Pure mistake," replied Barbicane. "Have you not seen shooting stars rush
through the sky by thousands at certain seasons?"
"Yes."
"Well, these stars, or rather corpuscles, only shine when they are heated by
gliding over the atmospheric layers. Now, if they enter the atmosphere, they
pass at least within forty miles of the earth, but they seldom fall upon it.
The same with our projectile. It may approach very near to the moon, and not
yet fall upon it."
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"But then," asked Michel, "I shall be curious to know how our erring vehicle
will act in space?"
"I see but two hypotheses," replied Barbicane, after some
FROM EARTH TO THE MOON
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176
moments' reflection.
"What are they?"
"The projectile has the choice between two mathematical curves, and it will
follow one or the other according to the speed with which it is animated, and
which at this moment I cannot estimate."
"Yes," said Nicholl, "it will follow either a parabola or a hyperbola."
"Just so," replied Barbicane. "With a certain speed it will assume the
parabola, and with a greater the hyperbola."
"I like those grand words," exclaimed Michel Ardan; "one knows directly what
they mean. And pray what is your parabola, if you please?"
"My friend," answered the captain, "the parabola is a curve of the second
order, the result of the section of a cone intersected by a plane parallel to
one of the sides."
"Ah! ah!" said Michel, in a satisfied tone.
"It is very nearly," continued Nicholl, "the course described by a bomb
launched from a mortar."
"Perfect! And the hyperbola?"
"The hyperbola, Michel, is a curve of the second order, produced by the
intersection of a conic surface and a plane parallel to its axis, and
constitutes two branches separated one from the other, both tending
indefinitely in the two directions."
"Is it possible!" exclaimed Michel Ardan in a serious tone, as if they had
told him of some serious event. "What I particularly like in your definition
of the hyperbola (I was going to say hyperblague) is that it is still more
obscure than the word you pretend to define."
Nicholl and Barbicane cared little for Michel Ardan's fun.
They were deep in a scientific discussion. What curve would the projectile
follow? was their hobby. One maintained the hyperbola, the other the
parabola. They gave each other reasons bristling with _x_. Their arguments
were couched in language which made Michel jump. The discussion was hot, and
neither would give up his chosen curve to his adversary.
This scientific dispute lasted so long that it made Michel very impatient.
"Now, gentlemen cosines, will you cease to throw parabolas and hyperbolas at
each other's heads? I want to understand the only interesting question in the
whole affair. We shall follow one or the other of these curves? Good. But
where will they lead us to?"
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"Nowhere," replied Nicholl.
"How, nowhere?"
"Evidently," said Barbicane, "they are open curves, which may be prolonged
indefinitely."
"Ah, savants!" cried Michel; "and what are either the one or the other to us
from the moment we know that they equally lead us into infinite space?"
Barbicane and Nicholl could not forbear smiling. They had just been creating
"art for art's sake." Never had so idle a question been raised at such an
inopportune moment. The sinister truth remained that, whether hyperbolically
or parabolically borne away, the projectile would never again meet either the
earth or the moon.
What would become of these bold travelers in the immediate future?
If they did not die of hunger, if they did not die of thirst, in some days,
when the gas failed, they would die from want of air, unless the cold had
killed them first. Still, important as it was to economize the gas, the
excessive lowness of the surrounding temperature obliged them to consume a
certain quantity.
Strictly speaking, they could do without its _light_, but not without its
_heat_. Fortunately the caloric generated by Reiset's and Regnaut's apparatus
raised the temperature of the interior of the projectile a little, and without
much expenditure they were able to keep it bearable.
But observations had now become very difficult. the dampness of the
projectile was condensed on the windows and congealed immediately.
This cloudiness had to be dispersed continually. In any case they might hope
to be able to discover some phenomena of the highest interest.
But up to this time the disc remained dumb and dark. It did not answer the
multiplicity of questions put by these ardent minds;
a matter which drew this reflection from Michel, apparently a just one:
"If ever we begin this journey over again, we shall do well to choose the time
when the moon is at the full."
"Certainly," said Nicholl, "that circumstance will be more favorable.
I allow that the moon, immersed in the sun's rays, will not be visible during
the transit, but instead we should see the earth, which would be full. And
what is more, if we were drawn round the moon, as at this moment, we should at
least have the advantage of seeing the invisible part of her disc
magnificently lit."
"Well said, Nicholl," replied Michel Ardan. "What do you think, Barbicane?"
"I think this," answered the grave president: "If ever we begin this journey
again, we shall start at the same time and under the same conditions. Suppose
we had attained our end, would it not have been better to have found
continents in broad daylight
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