“At the moment when the projectile is hurled
into space, the moon, which travels forward 13 deg.
10’ 35” each day, will be four times as
distant from her zenith point—i.e., by
52 deg. 42’ 20”, a space which corresponds
to the distance she will travel during the transit
of the projectile. But as the deviation which
the rotatory movement of the earth will impart to
the shock must also be taken into account, and as the
projectile cannot reach the moon until after a deviation
equal to sixteen radii of the earth, which, calculated
upon the moon’s orbit, is equal to about 11 deg.,
it is necessary to add these 11 deg. to those caused
by the already-mentioned delay of the moon, or, in
round numbers, 64 deg.. Thus, at the moment of
firing, the visual radius applied to the moon will
describe with the vertical line of the place an angle
of 64 deg..
“Such are the answers to the questions proposed
to the Observatory of Cambridge by the members of
the Gun Club.
“To sum up—
“1st. The cannon must be placed in a country
situated between 0 deg. and 28 deg. of north or south
latitude.
“2nd. It must be aimed at the zenith of
the place.
“3rd. The projectile must have an initial
speed of 12,000 yards a second.
“4th. It must be hurled on December 1st
of next year, at 10hrs. 46mins. 40secs. p.m.
“5th. It will meet the moon four days after
its departure on December 4th, at midnight precisely,
at the moment she arrives at her zenith.
“The members of the Gun Club ought, therefore,
at once to commence the labour necessitated by such
an enterprise, and be ready to put them into execution
at the moment fixed upon, for they will not find the
moon in the same conditions of perigee and zenith
till eighteen years and eleven days later.
“The staff of the Observatory of Cambridge puts
itself entirely at their disposition for questions
of theoretic astronomy, and begs to join its congratulations
to those of the whole of America.
“On behalf of the staff,
“J.M. BELFAST,
“Director of the Observatory of Cambridge.”
THE ROMANCE OF THE MOON.
A spectator endowed with infinite power of sight,
and placed at the unknown centre round which gravitates
the universe, would have seen myriads of atoms filling
all space during the chaotic epoch of creation.
But by degrees, as centuries went on, a change took
place; a law of gravitation manifested itself which
the wandering atoms obeyed; these atoms, combined
chemically according to their affinities, formed themselves
into molecules, and made those nebulous masses with
which the depths of the heavens are strewed.
These masses were immediately animated by a movement
of rotation round their central point. This centre,
made of vague molecules, began to turn on itself whilst
progressively condensing; then, following the immutable
laws of mechanics, in proportion as its volume became
diminished by condensation its movement of rotation
was accelerated, and these two effects persisting,
there resulted a principal planet, the centre of the
nebulous mass.
