To the 150th anniversary of the flight to the moon

The moon swam in a clear, clear sky, dimming the twinkling of stars with its clear light; she was at this moment in the constellation Gemini, almost the same distance between the horizon and the zenith. Everyone understood that the Columbiad's sight would not be sent there, but above — just as they were aiming not at a running beast, but at a certain point in front of it.

At the twentieth second, the crowd trembled. Many people had the idea that there, inside the shell, brave travelers also consider these terrible seconds! Separate shouts began to erupt from the crowd: - Thirty-five! Thirty six! Thirty seven! Thirty eight! Thirty nine! Forty! Cook !!!
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There was a terrible, unheard of, incredible explosion! It is impossible to transmit his power - he would have covered the deafening thunder and even the roar of a volcanic eruption. From the bowels of the earth a giant sheaf of fire leaped up, as if from a volcanic crater. The earth shook, and hardly anyone from the audience managed at that instant to see the shell, victoriously cutting the air in a whirlwind of smoke and fire.

The calendar had the date December 1, 1865. The shell was to reach the moon - December 4, 1865. A hundred and fifty years ago.

Of course, it’s hard not to recognize Jules Verne’s novel From the Earth to the Moon. But where did the date come from? In the novel, the year was not specified. Only a decade of 186 ...

Yes, there is no exact date. But enough information is given to calculate it. We read the book. The first is the response of the Cambridge Observatory.

...
Therefore, the nucleus should be released 97 hours, 13 minutes and 20 seconds before the Moon passes through the intended point of its path.
...
Based on the foregoing, it is necessary first of all to determine the time when the moon will be at perigee, as well as the moment when it will be at its zenith; then the distance will be reduced by the magnitude of the earth’s radius, that is, by 3919 miles; therefore, the length of the projectile path is finally determined to be approximately 214,976 miles. But although the moon is at the perigee every month, it is not always at its zenith at this moment. A similar coincidence is repeated at long intervals. Therefore, it is necessary to wait until it is in the perigee and in the zenith. Fortunately, such a coincidence will occur on December 4 of next year: at midnight the moon will be at its perigee, that is, at the shortest distance from the Earth, and at the same moment will be at its zenith.


It also shows the exact coordinates of the place on the surface of the Earth, in which the columbiad was located

This elevation is located at an altitude of three hundred toisees above sea level. Latitude is twenty seven degrees seven minutes, longitude five degrees seven minutes. I believe that the dry and stony ground of this hill represents very favorable conditions for the construction of a colombiad. Therefore, it is here that we build our furnaces, our warehouses, dwellings for our workers, and from here, precisely from here, ”repeated Barbican, stamping his foot on the ground,“ our projectile will fly into world space!



The first problem. If you put these coordinates on the map, then we find ourselves in Algeria. And you need Florida. Why did this happen? It's simple. In the 19th century, the US tried to put the Washington meridian in circulation, instead of Greenwich. The attempt failed, but here the coordinates are given in it. It’s good that the geographical places have not changed during this time and everything can be calculated. According to the book, the case took place near the city of Tampa. Actually, it turned out that "everything is already calculated to us." And in this place is now the park of Jules Verne.


Now we have the coordinates of the gun, and the approximate date of the shot. Now you just need to find when the moon will pass through the zenith. Of course, the hit will not be perfectly accurate. It has long been all this ...



Everything! Exact date calculated. December 4, 1865. Of course, it coincides with the publication of the book. But this method is more interesting :)