lunar-observation
The travelers use powerful marine glasses to study the moon's surface in detail despite not being able to land.
2 chapters across 1 book
From the Earth to the Moon (1867)Jules Verne
In this chapter, the travelers aboard the projectile realize that a slight deviation caused by a meteor has altered their course, preventing them from landing on the moon. Despite this, they devote themselves to observing the lunar surface with their optical instruments, reflecting on the scientific and emotional significance of their mission as representatives of humanity. The chapter also provides detailed descriptions of the moon's appearance, its shape influenced by Earth's gravity, and the capabilities of contemporary telescopes compared to their own observations.
In this chapter, the projectile narrowly avoids danger from meteors while orbiting the moon, revealing the lunar surface illuminated by a meteor's explosion. The travelers observe the sun rising over the moon's southern mountains, realizing they have completed a full orbit and that their trajectory is elliptical, effectively making their projectile a satellite of the moon, though still lost in space.