twenty minutes
past twelve
An increase in eccentricity would merely shorten the journey , if aphelion always coincided with opposition , which it would not . '' `` Let us know how you are getting on , '' said Deepwaters to Ayrault , `` and be sure you have the Callisto properly christened . Step lively there , landlubbers ! '' he called to Stillman ; `` I have an appointment at Washington at one , and it is now twenty minutes past twelve . We can lunch on the way . '' Ayrault immediately advertised for bids for the construction of a glucinum cylinder twenty-five feet in diameter , fifteen feet high at the sides , with a domed roof , bringing up the total height to twenty-one feet , and with a small gutter about it to catch the rain on Jupiter or any other planet they might visit . The sides , roof , and floor were to consist of two sheets , each one third of an inch thick and six inches apart , the space between to be filled with mineral wool , as a protection against the intense cold of space .