Ever since, in childhood, I learnt that the planets were worlds, a visit to one or more of the nearest of them had been my favourite day-dream. Treasuring every hint afforded by science or fancy that bore upon the subject, I felt confident that such a voyage would be one day achieved. Helped by one or two really ingenious romances on this theme, I had dreamed out my dream, realised every difficulty, ascertained every factor in the problem. I had satisfied myself that only one thing needful was as yet wholly beyond the reach and even the proximate hopes of science. Human invention could furnish as yet no motive6 power that could fulfil the main requirement of the problem—uniform or constantly increasing motion in vacuo—motion through a region affording no resisting medium. This must be a repulsive energy capable of acting7 through an utter void. Man, animals, birds, fishes move by repulsion applied8 at every moment. In air or water, paddles, oars9, sails, fins10, wings act by repulsion exerted on the fluid element in which they work. But in space there is no such resisting element on which repulsion can operate. I needed a repulsion which would act like gravitation through an indefinite distance and in a void—act upon a remote fulcrum11, such as might be the Earth in a voyage to the Moon, or the Sun in a more distant journey. As soon, then, as the character of the apergic force was made known to me, its application to this purpose seized on my mind. Experiment had proved it possible, by the method described at the commencement of this record, to generate and collect it in amounts practically unlimited12. The other hindrances13 to a voyage through space were trivial in comparison with that thus overcome; there were difficulties to be surmounted14, not absent or deficient15 powers in nature to be discovered. The chief of these, of course, concerned the conveyance16 of air sufficient for the needs of the traveller during the period of his journey. The construction of an air-tight vessel17 was easy enough; but however large the body of air conveyed, even though its oxygen should not be exhausted18, the carbonic acid given out by breathing would very soon so contaminate the whole that life would be impossible. To eliminate this element it would only be necessary to carry a certain quantity of lime-water, easily calculated, and by means of a fan or similar instrument to drive the whole of the air periodically through the vessel containing it. The lime in solution combining with the noxious19 gas would show by the turbid20 whiteness of the water the absorption of the carbonic acid and formation of carbonate of lime. But if the carbonic acid gas were merely to be removed, it is obvious that the oxygen of the air, which forms a part of that gas, would be constantly diminished and ultimately exhausted; and the effect of highly oxygenated air upon the circulation is notoriously too great to allow of any considerable increase at the outset in the proportion of this element. I might carry a fresh supply of oxygen, available at need, in some solid combination like chlorate of potash; but the electricity employed for the generation of the apergy might be also applied to the decomposition21 of carbonic acid and the restoration of its oxygen to the atmosphere.
But the vessel had to be steered22 as well as propelled; and in order to accomplish this it would be necessary to command the direction of the apergy at pleasure. My means of doing this depended on two of the best-established peculiarities25 of this strange force: its rectilinear direction and its conductibility. We found that it acts through air or in a vacuum in a single straight line, without deflection, and seemingly without diminution26. Most solids, and especially metals, according to their electric condition, are more or less impervious27 to it—antapergic. Its power of penetration28 diminishes under a very obscure law, but so rapidly that no conceivable strength of current would affect an object protected by an intervening sheet half an inch in thickness. On the other hand, it prefers to all other lines the axis29 of a conductive bar, such as may be formed of [undecipherable] in an antapergic sheath. However such bar may be curved, bent30, or divided, the current will fill and follow it, and pursue indefinitely, without divergence31, diffusion32, or loss, the direction in which it emerges. Therefore, by collecting the current from the generator33 in a vessel cased with antapergic material, and leaving no other aperture34, its entire volume might be sent into a conductor. By cutting across this conductor, and causing the further part to rotate upon the nearer, I could divert the current through any required angle. Thus I could turn the repulsion upon the resistant35 body (sun or planet), and so propel the vessel in any direction I pleased.
I had determined36 that my first attempt should be a visit to Mars. The Moon is a far less interesting body, since, on the hemisphere turned towards the Earth, the absence of an atmosphere and of water ensures the absence of any such life as is known to us—probably of any life that could be discerned by our senses—and would prevent landing; while nearly all the soundest astronomers37 agree in believing, on apparently38 sufficient grounds, that even the opposite hemisphere [of which small portions are from time to time rendered visible by the libration, though greatly foreshortened and consequently somewhat imperfectly seen] is equally devoid40 of the two primary necessaries of animal and vegetable life. That Mars has seas, clouds, and an atmosphere was generally admitted, and I held it to be beyond question. Of Venus, owing to her extraordinary brilliancy, to the fact that when nearest to the Earth a very small portion of her lighted surface is visible to us, and above all to her dense41 cloud-envelope, very little was known; and though I cherished the intention to visit her even more earnestly than my resolve to reach the probably less attractive planet Mars, I determined to begin with that voyage of which the conditions and the probable result were most obvious and certain. I preferred, moreover, in the first instance, to employ the apergy as a propelling rather than as a resisting force. Now, after passing beyond the immediate42 sphere of the Earth's attraction, it is plain that in going towards Mars I should be departing from the Sun, relying upon the apergy to overcome his attraction; whereas in seeking to attain43 Venus I should be approaching the Sun, relying for my main motive power upon that tremendous attraction, and employing the apergy only to moderate the rate of movement and control its direction. The latter appeared to me the more delicate, difficult, and perhaps dangerous task of the two; and I resolved to defer44 it until after I had acquired some practical experience and dexterity45 in the control of my machinery46.
It was expedient47, of course, to make my vessel as light as possible, and, at the same time, as large as considerations of weight would admit. But it was of paramount48 importance to have walls of great thickness, in order to prevent the penetration of the outer cold of space, or rather the outward passage into that intense cold of the heat generated within the vessel itself, as well as to resist the tremendous outward pressure of the air inside. Partly for these reasons, and partly because its electric character makes it especially capable of being rendered at will pervious or impervious to the apergic current, I resolved to make the outer and inner walls of an alloy49 of …, while the space between should be filled up with a mass of concrete or cement, in its nature less penetrable50 to heat than any other substance which Nature has furnished or the wit of man constructed from her materials. The materials of this cement and their proportions were as follows. [2]
* * * * *
Briefly51, having determined to take advantage of the approaching opposition52 of Mars in MDCCCXX … [3], I had my vessel constructed with walls three feet thick, of which the outer six and the inner three inches were formed of the metalloid. In shape my Astronaut somewhat resembled the form of an antique Dutch East-Indiaman, being widest and longest in a plane equidistant from floor and ceiling, the sides and ends sloping outwards53 from the floor and again inwards towards the roof. The deck and keel, however, were absolutely flat, and each one hundred feet in length and fifty in breadth, the height of the vessel being about twenty feet. In the centre of the floor and in that of the roof respectively I placed a large lens of crystal, intended to act as a window in the first instance, the lower to admit the rays of the Sun, while through the upper I should discern the star towards which I was steering54. The floor, being much heavier than the rest of the vessel, would naturally be turned downwards55; that is, during the greater part of the voyage towards the Sun. I placed a similar lens in the centre of each of the four sides, with two plane windows of the same material, one in the upper, the other in the lower half of the wall, to enable me to discern any object in whatever direction. The crystal in question consisted of …, which, as those who manufactured it for me are aware, admits of being cast with a perfection and equality of structure throughout unattainable with ordinary glass, and wrought56 to a certainty and accuracy of curvature which the most patient and laborious57 polishing can hardly give to the lenses even of moderate-sized telescopes, whether made of glass or metal, and is singularly impervious to heat. I had so calculated the curvature that several eye-pieces of different magnifying powers which I carried with me might be adapted equally to any of the window lenses, and throw a perfect image, magnified by 100, 1000, or 5000, upon mirrors properly placed.
I carpeted the floor with several alternate layers of cork58 and cloth. At one end I placed my couch, table, bookshelves, and other necessary furniture, with all the stores needed for my voyage, and with a further weight sufficient to preserve equilibrium59. At the other I made a garden with soil three feet deep and five feet in width, divided into two parts so as to permit access to the windows. I filled each garden closely with shrubs60 and flowering plants of the greatest possible variety, partly to absorb animal waste, partly in the hope of naturalising them elsewhere. Covering both with wire netting extending from the roof to the floor, I filled the cages thus formed with a variety of birds. In the centre of the vessel was the machinery, occupying altogether a space of about thirty feet by twenty. The larger portion of this area was, of course, taken up by the generator, above which was the receptacle of the apergy. From this descended61 right through the floor a conducting bar in an antapergic sheath, so divided that without separating it from the upper portion the lower might revolve62 in any direction through an angle of twenty minutes (20'). This, of course, was intended to direct the stream of the repulsive force against the Sun. The angle might have been extended to thirty minutes, but that I deemed it inexpedient to rely upon a force, directed against the outer portions of the Sun's disc, believing that these are occupied by matter of density63 so small that it might afford no sufficient base, so to speak, for the repulsive action. It was obviously necessary also to repel64 or counteract65 the attraction of any body which might come near me during the voyage. Again, in getting free from the Earth's influence, I must be able to steer23 in any direction and at any angle to the surface. For this purpose I placed five smaller bars, passing through the roof and four sides, connected, like the main conductor, with the receptacle or apergion, but so that they could revolve through a much larger angle, and could at any moment be detached and insulated. My steering apparatus66 consisted of a table in which were three large circles. The midmost and left hand of these were occupied by accurately67 polished plane mirrors. The central circle, or metacompass, was divided by three hundred and sixty fine lines, radiating from the centre to the circumference68, marking as many different directions, each deviating69 by one degree of arc from the next. This mirror was to receive through the lens in the roof the image of the star towards which I was steering. While this remained stationary70 in the centre all was well. When it moved along any one of the lines, the vessel was obviously deviating from her course in the opposite direction; and, to recover the right course, the repellent force must be caused to drive her in the direction in which the image had moved. To accomplish this, a helm was attached to the lower division of the main conductor, by which the latter could be made to move at will in any direction within the limit of its rotation71. Controlling this helm was, in the open or steering circle on the right hand, a small knob to be moved exactly parallel to the deviation72 of the star in the mirror of the metacompass. The left-hand circle, or discometer, was divided by nineteen hundred and twenty concentric circles, equidistant from each other. The outermost73, about twice as far from the centre as from the external edge of the mirror, was exactly equal to the Sun's circumference when presenting the largest disc he ever shows to an observer on Earth. Each inner circle corresponded to a diameter reduced by one second. By means of a vernier or eye-piece, the diameter of the Sun could be read off the discometer, and from his diameter my distance could be accurately calculated. On the further side of the machinery was a chamber74 for the decomposition of the carbonic acid, through which the air was driven by a fan. This fan itself was worked by a horizontal wheel with two projecting squares of antapergic metal, against each of which, as it reached a certain point, a very small stream of repulsive force was directed from the apergion, keeping the wheel in constant and rapid motion. I had, of course, supplied myself with an ample store of compressed vegetables, preserved meats, milk, tea, coffee, &c., and a supply of water sufficient to last for double the period which the voyage was expected to occupy; also a well-furnished tool-chest (with wires, tubes, &c.). One of the lower windows was made just large enough to admit my person, and after entering I had to close it and fix it in its place firmly with cement, which, when I wished to quit the vessel, would have again to be removed.
Of course some months were occupied in the manufacture of the different portions of the vessel and her machinery, and sometime more in their combination; so that when, at the end of July, I was ready to start, the opposition was rapidly approaching. In the course of some fifty days the Earth, moving in her orbit at a rate of about eleven hundred miles [4] per minute, would overtake Mars; that is to say, would pass between him and the Sun. In starting from the Earth I should share this motion; I too should go eleven hundred miles a minute in the same direction; but as I should travel along an orbit constantly widening, the Earth would leave me behind. The apergy had to make up for this, as well as to carry me some forty millions of miles in a direction at right angles to the former—right outward towards the orbit of Mars. Again, I should share the motion of that particular spot of the Earth's surface from which I rose around her axis, a motion varying with the latitude75, greatest at the equator, nothing at the pole. This would whirl me round and round the Earth at the rate of a thousand miles an hour; of this I must, of course, get rid as soon as possible. And when I should be rid of it, I meant to start at first right upward; that is, straight away from the Sun and in the plane of the ecliptic, which is not very different from that in which Mars also moves. Therefore I should begin my effective ascent76 from a point of the Earth as far as possible from the Sun; that is, on the midnight meridian77.
For the same reason which led me to start so long before the date of the opposition, I resolved, having regard to the action of the Earth's rotation on her axis, to start some hours before midnight. Taking leave, then, of the two friends who had thus far assisted me, I entered the Astronaut on the 1st August, about 4.30 P.M. After sealing up the entrance-window, and ascertaining78 carefully that everything was in order—a task which occupied me about an hour—I set the generator to work; and when I had ascertained that the apergion was full, and that the force was supplied at the required rate, I directed the whole at first into the main conductor. After doing this I turned towards the lower window on the west—or, as it was then, the right-hand side—and was in time to catch sight of the trees on the hills, some half mile off and about two hundred feet above the level of my starting-point. I should have said that I had considerably80 compressed my atmosphere and increased the proportion of oxygen by about ten per cent., and also carried with me the means of reproducing the whole amount of the latter in case of need. Among my instruments was a pressure-gauge, so minutely divided that, with a movable vernier of the same power as the fixed81 ones employed to read the glass circles, I could discover the slightest escape of air in a very few seconds. The pressure-gauge, however, remained immovable. Going close to the window and looking out, I saw the Earth falling from me so fast that, within five minutes after my departure, objects like trees and even houses had become almost indistinguishable to the naked eye. I had half expected to hear the whistling of the air as the vessel rushed upward, but nothing of the kind was perceptible through her dense walls. It was strange to observe the rapid rise of the sun from the westward82. Still more remarkable83, on turning to the upper window, was the rapidly blackening aspect of the sky. Suddenly everything disappeared except a brilliant rainbow at some little distance—or perhaps I should rather have said a halo of more than ordinary rainbow brilliancy, since it occupied, not like the rainbows seen from below, something less than half, but nearly two-thirds of a circle. I was, of course, aware that I was passing through a cloud, and one of very unusual thickness. In a few seconds, however, I was looking down upon its upper surface, reflecting from a thousand broken masses of vapour at different levels, from cavities and hillocks of mist, the light of the sun; white beams mixed with innumerable rays of all colours in a confusion, of indescribable brilliancy. I presume that the total obscuration of everything outside the cloud during my passage through it was due to its extent and not to its density, since at that height it could not have been otherwise than exceedingly light and diffuse84. Looking upward through the eastern window, I could now discern a number of brighter stars, and at nearly every moment fresh ones came into view on a constantly darkening background. Looking downward to the west, where alone the entire landscape lay in daylight, I presently discerned the outline of shore and sea extending over a semicircle whose radius85 much exceeded five hundred miles, implying that I was about thirty-five miles from the sea-level. Even at this height the extent of my survey was so great in comparison to my elevation86, that a line drawn87 from the vessel to the horizon was, though very roughly, almost parallel to the surface; and the horizon therefore seemed to be not very far from my own level, while the point below me, of course, appeared at a vast distance. The appearance of the surface, therefore, was as if the horizon had been, say, some thirty miles higher than the centre of the semicircle bounding my view, and the area included in my prospect88 had the form of a saucer or shallow bowl. But since the diameter of the visible surface increases only as the square root of the height, this appearance became less and less perceptible as I rose higher. It had taken me twenty minutes to attain the elevation of thirty-five miles; but my speed was, of course, constantly increasing, very much as the speed of an object falling to the Earth from a great height increases; and before ten more minutes had elapsed, I found myself surrounded by a blackness nearly absolute, except in the direction of the Sun,—which was still well above the sea—and immediately round the terrestrial horizon, on which rested a ring of sunlit azure89 sky, broken here and there by clouds. In every other direction I seemed to be looking not merely upon a black or almost black sky, but into close surrounding darkness. Amid this darkness, however, were visible innumerable points of light, more or less brilliant—the stars—which no longer seemed to be spangled over the surface of a distant vault90, but rather scattered91 immediately about me, nearer or farther to the instinctive92 apprehension93 of the eye as they were brighter or fainter. Scintillation there was none, except in the immediate vicinity of the eastern horizon, where I still saw them through a dense atmosphere. In short, before thirty minutes had elapsed since the start, I was satisfied that I had passed entirely94 out of the atmosphere, and had entered into the vacancy95 of space—if such a thing as vacant space there be.
At this point I had to cut off the greater part of the apergy and check my speed, for reasons that will be presently apparent. I had started in daylight in order that during the first hundred miles of my ascent I might have a clear view of the Earth's surface. Not only did I wish to enjoy the spectacle, but as I had to direct my course by terrestrial landmarks96, it was necessary that I should be able to see these so as to determine the rate and direction of the Astronaut's motion, and discern the first symptoms of any possible danger. But obviously, since my course lay generally in the plane of the ecliptic, and for the present at least nearly in the line joining the centres of the Earth and Sun, it was desirable that my real journey into space should commence in the plane of the midnight meridian; that is, from above the part of the Earth's surface immediately opposite the Sun. I had to reach this line, and having reached it, to remain for some time above it. To do both, I must attain it, if possible, at the same moment at which I secured a westward impulse just sufficient to counterbalance the eastward97 impulse derived98 from the rotation of the Earth;—that is, in the latitude from which I started, a thousand miles an hour. I had calculated that while directing through the main bar a current of apergy sufficient to keep the Astronaut at a fixed elevation, I could easily spare for the eastward conductor sufficient force to create in the space of one hour the impulse required, but that in the course of that hour the gradually increasing apergic force would drive me 500 miles westward. Now in six hours the Earth's rotation would carry an object close to its surface through an angle of 90°; that is, from the sunset to the midnight meridian. But the greater the elevation of the object the wider its orbit round the Earth's centre, and the longer each degree; so that moving eastward only a thousand miles an hour, I should constantly lag behind a point on the Earth's surface, and should not reach the midnight meridian till somewhat later. I had, moreover, to lose 500 miles of the eastward drift during the last hour in which I should be subject to it, through the action of the apergic force above-mentioned. Now, an elevation of 330 miles would give the Astronaut an orbit on which 90° would represent 6500 miles. In seven hours I should be carried along that orbit 7000 miles eastward by the impulse my Astronaut had received from the Earth, and driven back 500 miles by the apergy; so that at 1 A.M. by my chronometer99 I should be exactly in the plane of the midnight meridian, or 6500 miles east of my starting-point in space, provided that I put the eastward apergic current in action exactly at 12 P.M. by the chronometer. At 1 A.M. also I should have generated a westward impulse of 1000 miles an hour. This, once created, would continue to exist though the force that created it were cut off, and would exactly counterbalance the opposite rotation impulse derived from the Earth; so that thenceforward I should be entirely free from the influence of the latter, though still sharing that motion of the Earth through space at the rate of nearly nineteen miles per second, which would carry me towards the line joining at the moment of opposition her centre with that of Mars.
All went as I had calculated. I contrived100 to arrest the Astronaut's motion at the required elevation just about the moment of sunset on the region of the Earth immediately underneath101. At 12 P.M., or 24h by the chronometer, I directed a current of the requisite102 strength into the eastward conductor, which I had previously103 pointed104 to the Earth's surface, but a little short of the extreme terrestrial horizon, as I calculated it. At 1 A.M. I found myself, judging by the stars, exactly where I wished to be, and nearly stationary as regarded the Earth. I instantly arrested the eastward current, detaching that conductor from the apergion; and, directing the whole force of the current into the downward conductor, I had the pleasure of seeing that, after a very little adjustment of the helm, the stars remained stationary in the mirror of the metacompass, showing that I had escaped from the influence of the Earth's rotation. It was of course impossible to measure the distance traversed during the invisibility of the Earth, but I reckoned that I had made above 500 miles between 1h. and 2h. A.M., and that at 4h. I was not less than 4800 miles from the surface. With this inference the indication of my barycrite substantially agreed. The latter instrument consisted of a spring whose deflection by a given weight upon the equator had been very carefully tested. Gravity diminishing as the square of the distance from the centre, it was obvious that at about 8000 miles—or 4000 above the Earth's surface—this spring would be deflected105 only one quarter as much by a given weight as on Earth: at 16,000 miles from the surface, or 20,000 from the centre, one-twenty-fifth as much, and so on. I had graduated the scale accordingly, and it indicated at present a distance somewhat less than 9000 miles from the centre. Having adjusted the helm and set the alarum to wake me in six hours, I lay down upon my bed.
The anxiety and peril106 of my position had disturbed me very little whilst I was actively107 engaged either in steering and manipulating my machinery, or in looking upon the marvellous and novel spectacles presented to my eyes; but it now oppressed me in my sleep, and caused me frequently to wake from dreams of a hideous108 character. Two or three times, on such awaking, I went to examine the metacompass, and on one occasion found it necessary slightly to readjust the helm; the stars by which I steered having moved some second or two to the right of their proper position.
On rising, I completed the circuit which filled my vessel with brilliant light emitted from an electric lamp at the upper part of the stern, and reflected by the polished metallic109 walls. I then proceeded to get my breakfast, for which, as I had tasted nothing since some hours before the start, I had a hearty110 appetite. I had anticipated some trouble from the diminished action of gravity, doubting whether the boiling-point at this immense height above the Earth might not be affected111; but I found that this depends upon the pressure of the atmosphere alone, and that this pressure was in nowise affected by the absence of gravity. My atmosphere being somewhat denser112 than that of the Earth, the boiling-point was not 100°, but 101° Cent. The temperature of the interior of the vessel, taken at a point equidistant from the stove and from the walls, was about 5° C.; unpleasantly cool, but still, with the help of a greatcoat, not inconveniently113 so. I found it absolutely impossible to measure by means of the thermometers I had placed outside the windows the cold of space; but that it falls far short of the extreme supposed by some writers, I confidently believe. It is, however, cold enough to freeze mercury, and to reduce every other substance employed as a test of atmospheric114 or laboratory temperatures to a solidity which admits of no further contraction115. I had filled one outside thermometer with spirit, but this was broken before I looked at it; and in another, whose bulb unfortunately was blackened, and which was filled with carbonic acid gas, an apparent vacuum had been created. Was it that the gas had been frozen, and had sunk into the lower part of the bulb, where it would, of course, be invisible? When I had completed my meal and smoked the very small cigar which alone a prudent116 consideration for the state of the atmosphere would allow me, the chronometer showed 10 A.M. It was not surprising that by this time weight had become almost non-existent. My twelve stone had dwindled117 to the weight of a small fowl118, and hooking my little finger into the loop of a string hung from a peg119 fixed near the top of the stern wall, I found myself able thus to support my weight without any sense of fatigue120 for a quarter of an hour or more; in fact, I felt during that time absolutely no sense of muscular weariness. This state of things entailed121 only one inconvenience. Nothing had any stability; so that the slightest push or jerk would upset everything that was not fixed. However, I had so far anticipated this that nothing of any material consequence was unfixed, and except that a touch with my spoon upset the egg-cup and egg on which I was about to breakfast, and that this, falling against a breakfast cup full of coffee, overturned that, I was not incommoded. I managed to save the greater part of the beverage122, since, the atmospheric pressure being the same though the weight was so changed, lead, and still more china or liquid, fell in the Astronaut as slowly as feathers in the immediate vicinity of the Earth. Still it was a novel experience to find myself able to lean in any direction, and rest in almost any posture123, with but the slightest support for the body's centre of gravity; and further to find on experiment that it was possible to remain for a couple of hours with my heels above my head, in the favourite position of a Yankee's lower limbs, without any perceptible congestion124 of blood or confusion of brain.
I was occupied all day with abstract calculations; and knowing that for some time I could see nothing of the Earth—her dark side being opposite me and wholly obscuring the Sun, while I was as yet far from having entered within the sphere where any novel celestial125 phenomena126 might be expected—I only gave an occasional glance at the discometer and metacompass, suppressing of course the electric glare within my vessel, till I awoke from a short siesta127 about 19h. (7 P.M.) The Earth at this time occupied on the sphere of view a space—defined at first only by the absence of stars—about thirty times greater than the disc of the Moon as seen through a tube; but, being dark, scarcely seemed larger to the eye than the full Moon when on the horizon. But a new method of defining its disc was presently afforded me. I was, in fact, when looking through the lower window, in the same position as regards the Earth as would be an inhabitant of the lunar hemisphere turned towards her, having no external atmosphere interposed between us, but being at about two-thirds of the lunar distance. And as, during an eclipse, the Lunarian would see round the Earth a halo created by the refraction of the Sun's rays in the terrestrial atmosphere—a halo bright enough on most occasions so to illuminate128 the Moon as to render her visible to us—so to my eyes the Earth was surrounded by a halo somewhat resembling the solar corona129 as seen in eclipses, if not nearly so brilliant, but, unlike the solar corona, coloured, with a preponderance of red so decided130 as fully79 to account for the peculiar24 hue131 of the eclipsed Moon. To paint this, unless means of painting light—the one great deficiency which is still the opprobrium132 of human art—were discovered, would task to the uttermost the powers of the ablest artist, and at best he could give but a very imperfect notion of it. To describe it so that its beauty, brilliancy, and wondrous133 nature shall be in the slightest degree appreciated by my readers would require a command of words such as no poet since Homer—nay, not Homer himself—possessed. What was strange, and can perhaps be rendered intelligible134, was the variation, or, to use a phrase more suggestive and more natural, if not more accurate, the extreme mobility135 of the hues136 of this earthly corona. There were none of the efflorescences, if one may so term them, which are so generally visible at four cardinal137 points of its solar prototype. The outer portion of the band faded very rapidly into the darkness of space; but the edge, though absolutely undefined, was perfectly39 even. But on the generally rainbow-tinted138 ground suffused139 with red—which perhaps might best be described by calling it a rainbow seen on a background of brilliant crimson140—there were here and there blotches141 of black or of lighter142 or darker grey, caused apparently by vast expanses of cloud, more or less dense. Round the edges of each of these were little irregular rainbow-coloured halos of their own interrupting and variegating the continuous bands of the corona; while throughout all was discernible a perpetual variability, like the flashing or shooting of colour in the opal, the mother-of-pearl, or similarly tinted translucent143 substances when exposed to the irregular play of bright light—only that in this case the tints144 were incomparably more brilliant, the change more striking, if not more rapid. I could not say that at any particular moment any point or part of the surface presented this or that definite hue; and yet the general character of the rainbow, suffused with or backed by crimson, was constant and unmistakable. The light sent through the window was too dim and too imperfectly diffused145 within my vessel to be serviceable, but for some time I put out the electric lamp in order that its diffused light should not impair146 my view of this exquisite147 spectacle. As thrown, after several reflections, upon the mirror destined148 afterwards to measure the image of the solar disc, the apparition149 of the halo was of course much less bright, and its outer boundary ill defined for accurate measurement. The inner edge, where the light was bounded by the black disc of the Earth, shaded off much more quickly from dark reddish purple into absolute blackness.
And now a surprise, the first I had encountered, awaited me. I registered the gravity as shown by the barycrite; and, extinguishing the electric lamp, measured repeatedly the semi-diameter of the Earth and of the halo around her upon the discometer, the inner edge of the latter affording the measurement of the black disc, which of itself, of course, cast no reflection. I saw at once that there was a signal difference in the two indications, and proceeded carefully to revise the earth-measurements. On the average of thirteen measures the halo was about 87", or nearly 1-1/2' in breadth, the disc, allowing for the twilight150 round its edge or limb, about 2° 50'. If the refracting atmosphere were some 65 miles in depth, these proportions were correct. Relighting the lamp, I worked out severally on paper the results indicated by the two instruments. The discometer gave a distance, roughly speaking, of 40 terrestrial radii151, or 160,000 miles. The barycrite should have shown a gravity, due to the Earth's attraction, not 40 but 1600 times less than that prevailing152 on the Earth's surface; or, to put it in a less accurate form, a weight of 100 lbs. should have weighed an ounce. It did weigh two ounces, the gravity being not one 1600th but one 800th of terrestrial gravity, or just double what, I expected. I puzzled myself over this matter longer, probably, than the intelligent reader will do: the explanation being obvious, like that of many puzzles that bewilder our minds intensely, only to humiliate153 us proportionately when the solution is found—a solution as simple as that of Columbus's egg-riddle. At length, finding that the lunar angle—the apparent position of the Moon—confirmed the reading of the discometer, giving the same apogaic distance or elevation, I supposed that the barycrite must be out of order or subject to some unsuspected law of which future observations might afford evidence and explanation, and turned to other subjects of interest.
Looking through the upper window on the left, I was struck by the rapid enlargement of a star which, when I first noticed it, might be of the third magnitude, but which in less than a minute attained154 the first, and in a minute more was as large as the planet Jupiter when seen with a magnifying power of one hundred diameters.
Its disc, however, had no continuous outline; and as it approached I perceived that it was an irregular mass of whose size I could form not even a conjectural155 estimate, since its distance must be absolutely uncertain. Its brilliancy grew fainter in proportion to the enlargement as it approached, proving that its light was reflected; and as it passed me, apparently in the direction of the earth, I had a sufficiently156 distinct view of it to know that it was a mainly metallic mass, certainly of some size, perhaps four, perhaps twenty feet in diameter, and apparently composed chiefly of iron; showing a more or less blistered157 surface, but with angles sharper and faces more regularly defined than most of those which have been found upon the earth's surface—as if the shape of the latter might be due in part to the conflagration158 they undergo in passing at such tremendous speed through the atmosphere, or, in an opposite sense, to the fractures caused by the shock of their falling. Though I made no attempt to count the innumerable stars in the midst of which I appeared to float, I was convinced that their number was infinitely159 greater than that visible to the naked eye on the brightest night. I remembered how greatly the inexperienced eye exaggerates the number of stars visible from the Earth, since poets, and even olden observers, liken their number to that of the sands on the seashore; whereas the patient work of map and catalogue makers160 has shown that there are but a few thousands visible in the whole heavens to the keenest unaided sight. I suppose that I saw a hundred times that number. In one word, the sphere of darkness in which I floated seemed to be filled with points of light, while the absolute blackness that surrounded them, the absence of the slightest radiation, or illumination of space at large, was strange beyond expression to an eye accustomed to that diffusion of light which is produced by the atmosphere. I may mention here that the recognition of the constellations161 was at first exceedingly difficult. On Earth we see so few stars in any given portion of the heavens, that one recognises without an effort the figure marked out by a small number of the brightest amongst them; while in my position the multitude was so great that only patient and repeated effort enabled me to separate from the rest those peculiarly brilliant luminaries162 by which we are accustomed to define such constellations as Orion or the Bear, to say nothing of those minor163 or more arbitrarily drawn figures which contain few stars of the second magnitude. The eye had no instinctive sense of distance; any star might have been within a stone's throw. I need hardly observe that, while on one hand the motion of the vessel was absolutely imperceptible, there was, on the other, no change of position among the stars which could enable me to verify the fact that I was moving, much less suggest it to the senses. The direction of every recognisable star was the same as on Earth, as it appears the same from the two extremities164 of the Earth's orbit, 19 millions of miles apart. Looking from any one window, I could see no greater space of the heavens than in looking through a similar aperture on Earth. What was novel and interesting in my stellar prospect was, not merely that I could see those stars north and south which are never visible from the same point on Earth, except in the immediate neighbourhood of the Equator; but that, save on the small space concealed165 by the Earth's disc, I could, by moving from window to window, survey the entire heavens, looking at one minute upon the stars surrounding the vernal, and at another, by changing my position, upon those in the neighbourhood of the autumnal equinox. By little more than a turn of my head I could see in one direction Polaris (alpha Urs? Minoris) with the Great Bear, and in another the Southern Cross, the Ship, and the Centaur166.
About 23h. 30m., near the close of the first day, I again inspected the barycrite. It showed 1/1100 of terrestrial gravity, an incredibly small change from the 1/800 recorded at 19h., since it implied a progress proportionate only to the square root of the difference. The observation indicated, if the instrument could be trusted, an advance of only 18,000 miles. It was impossible that the Astronaut had not by this time attained a very much greater speed than 4000 miles an hour, and a greater distance from the Earth than 33 terrestrial radii, or 132,000 miles. Moreover, the barycrite itself had given at 19h. a distance of 28-1/2 radii, and a speed far greater than that which upon its showing had since been maintained. Extinguishing the lamp, I found that the Earth's diameter on the discometer measured 2° 3' 52" (?). This represented a gain of some 90,000 miles; much more approximate to that which, judging by calculation, I ought to have accomplished167 during the last four hours and a half, if my speed approached to that I had estimated. I inspected the cratometer, which indicated a force as great as that with which I had started,—a force which should by this time have given me a speed of at least 22,000 miles an hour. At last the solution of the problem flashed upon me, suggested by the very extravagance of the contradictions. Not only did the barycrite contradict the discometer and the reckoning but it contradicted itself; since it was impossible that under one continuous impulsation I should have traversed 28-1/2 radii of the Earth in the first eighteen hours and no more than 4-1/2 in the next four and a half hours. In truth, the barycrite was effected by two separate attractions,—that of the Earth and that of the Sun, as yet operating almost exactly in the same direction. At first the attraction of the former was so great that that of the Sun was no more perceived than upon the Earth's surface. But as I rose, and the Earth's attraction diminished in proportion to the square of the distance from her centre—which was doubled at 8000 miles, quadrupled at 16,000, and so on—the Sun's attraction, which was not perceptibly affected by differences so small in proportion to his vast distance of 95,000,000 miles, became a more and more important element in the total gravity. If, as I calculated, I had by 19h. attained a distance from the earth of 160,000 miles, the attractions of Earth and Sun were by that time pretty nearly equal; and hence the phenomenon which had so puzzled me, that the gravitation, as indicated by the barycrite, was exactly double that which, bearing in mind the Earth's attraction alone, I had calculated. From this point forward the Sun's attraction was the factor which mainly caused such weight as still existed; a change of position which, doubling my distance from the Earth, reduced her influence to one-fourth, not perceptibly affecting that of a body four hundred times more remote. A short calculation showed that, this fact borne in mind, the indication of the barycrite substantially agreed with that of the discometer, and that I was in fact very nearly where I supposed, that is, a little farther than the Moon's farthest distance from the Earth. It did not follow that I had crossed the orbit of the Moon; and if I had, she was at that time too far off to exercise a serious influence on my course. I adjusted the helm and betook myself to rest, the second day of my journey having already commenced.
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1
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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2
repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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3
ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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gaseous
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| adj.气体的，气态的 | |
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5
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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6
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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10
fins
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| [医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌 | |
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11
fulcrum
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| n.杠杆支点 | |
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12
unlimited
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| adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的 | |
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hindrances
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| 阻碍者( hindrance的名词复数 )； 障碍物； 受到妨碍的状态 | |
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surmounted
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| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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15
deficient
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| adj.不足的，不充份的，有缺陷的 | |
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16
conveyance
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| n.(不动产等的)转让，让与；转让证书；传送；运送；表达；（正）运输工具 | |
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17
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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18
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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19
noxious
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| adj.有害的，有毒的；使道德败坏的，讨厌的 | |
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20
turbid
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| adj.混浊的，泥水的，浓的 | |
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21
decomposition
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| n. 分解, 腐烂, 崩溃 | |
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22
steered
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| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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23
steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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24
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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25
peculiarities
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| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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26
diminution
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| n.减少；变小 | |
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27
impervious
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| adj.不能渗透的，不能穿过的，不易伤害的 | |
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28
penetration
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| n.穿透，穿人，渗透 | |
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29
axis
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| n.轴，轴线，中心线；坐标轴，基准线 | |
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30
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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31
divergence
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| n.分歧，岔开 | |
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32
diffusion
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| n.流布；普及；散漫 | |
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generator
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| n.发电机，发生器 | |
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34
aperture
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| n.孔，隙，窄的缺口 | |
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35
resistant
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| adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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37
astronomers
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| n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 ) | |
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38
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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40
devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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41
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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42
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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43
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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44
defer
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| vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从 | |
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45
dexterity
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| n.(手的)灵巧，灵活 | |
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46
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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47
expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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48
paramount
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| a.最重要的，最高权力的 | |
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49
alloy
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| n.合金，(金属的)成色 | |
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50
penetrable
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| adj.可穿透的 | |
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51
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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52
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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53
outwards
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| adj.外面的，公开的，向外的；adv.向外；n.外形 | |
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54
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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55
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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56
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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57
laborious
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| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
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58
cork
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| n.软木，软木塞 | |
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59
equilibrium
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| n.平衡，均衡，相称，均势，平静 | |
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60
shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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61
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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62
revolve
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| vi.(使)旋转；循环出现 | |
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63
density
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| n.密集，密度，浓度 | |
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64
repel
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| v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥 | |
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65
counteract
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| vt.对…起反作用，对抗，抵消 | |
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66
apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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67
accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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68
circumference
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| n.圆周，周长，圆周线 | |
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69
deviating
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| v.偏离，越轨( deviate的现在分词 ) | |
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70
stationary
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| adj.固定的，静止不动的 | |
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71
rotation
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| n.旋转；循环，轮流 | |
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72
deviation
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| n.背离，偏离；偏差，偏向；离题 | |
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73
outermost
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| adj.最外面的，远离中心的 | |
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74
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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75
latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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76
ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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77
meridian
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| adj.子午线的；全盛期的 | |
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78
ascertaining
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的现在分词 ) | |
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79
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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80
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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81
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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82
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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83
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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84
diffuse
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| v.扩散；传播；adj.冗长的；四散的，弥漫的 | |
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85
radius
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| n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限 | |
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86
elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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87
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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88
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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89
azure
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| adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的 | |
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90
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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91
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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92
instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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93
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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94
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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95
vacancy
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| n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺 | |
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96
landmarks
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| n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址） | |
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97
eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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98
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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99
chronometer
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| n.精密的计时器 | |
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100
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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101
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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102
requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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103
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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104
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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105
deflected
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| 偏离的 | |
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106
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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107
actively
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| adv.积极地，勤奋地 | |
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108
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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109
metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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111
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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112
denser
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| adj. 不易看透的, 密集的, 浓厚的, 愚钝的 | |
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113
inconveniently
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| ad.不方便地 | |
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114
atmospheric
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| adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的 | |
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115
contraction
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| n.缩略词，缩写式，害病 | |
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116
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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117
dwindled
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| v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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118
fowl
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| n.家禽，鸡，禽肉 | |
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119
peg
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| n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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121
entailed
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| 使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
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122
beverage
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| n.(水，酒等之外的)饮料 | |
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123
posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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124
congestion
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| n.阻塞，消化不良 | |
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125
celestial
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| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
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126
phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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127
siesta
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| n.午睡 | |
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128
illuminate
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| vt.照亮，照明；用灯光装饰；说明，阐释 | |
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corona
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| n.日冕 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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131
hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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132
opprobrium
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| n.耻辱，责难 | |
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133
wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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intelligible
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| adj.可理解的，明白易懂的，清楚的 | |
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mobility
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| n.可动性，变动性，情感不定 | |
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136
hues
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| 色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点 | |
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cardinal
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| n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的 | |
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138
tinted
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| adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词 | |
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139
suffused
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| v.（指颜色、水气等）弥漫于，布满( suffuse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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140
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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blotches
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| n.（皮肤上的）红斑，疹块( blotch的名词复数 )；大滴 [大片]（墨水或颜色的）污渍 | |
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142
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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143
translucent
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| adj.半透明的；透明的 | |
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144
tints
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| 色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹 | |
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145
diffused
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| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
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146
impair
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| v.损害，损伤；削弱，减少 | |
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exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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148
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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149
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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150
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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151
radii
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| n.半径；半径（距离）( radius的名词复数 )；用半径度量的圆形面积；半径范围；桡骨 | |
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152
prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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153
humiliate
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| v.使羞辱，使丢脸[同]disgrace | |
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154
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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155
conjectural
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| adj.推测的 | |
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156
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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157
blistered
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| adj.水疮状的，泡状的v.（使）起水泡( blister的过去式和过去分词 )；（使表皮等）涨破，爆裂 | |
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158
conflagration
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| n.建筑物或森林大火 | |
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159
infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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160
makers
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| n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式） | |
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161
constellations
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| n.星座( constellation的名词复数 )；一群杰出人物；一系列（相关的想法、事物）；一群（相关的人） | |
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162
luminaries
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| n.杰出人物，名人（luminary的复数形式） | |
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163
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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164
extremities
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| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地 | |
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165
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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166
centaur
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| n.人首马身的怪物 | |
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167
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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