8 a.m.
They , on the contrary , had no authority over their vehicle . No manoeuvre was possible to them . Hence their not troubling themselves , or `` let things go '' state of mind . Where were they at that moment , 8 a.m. during that day called upon earth the sixth of December ? Certainly in the neighbourhood of the moon , and even near enough for her to appear like a vast black screen upon the firmament . As to the distance which separated them , it was impossible to estimate it . The projectile , kept up by inexplicable forces , has grazed the north pole of the satellite at less than twenty-five miles ' distance .