midnight, May
They were not quite prepared for the coming of an Imperial -- and hostile -- visitor in an airship , accompanied by the discoverer of the comet , the millionaire who owned the great telescope , and an American gentleman in the uniform of a British admiral ; but those were extraordinary times , and so extraordinary happenings might be expected . The astronomer and his staff , being sober men of science , whose business was with other worlds rather than this one , accepted the situation calmly , gave their visitors lunch , talked about everything but the war , and then they all spent a pleasant and instructive afternoon in a journey through Space in search of the still invisible Celestial Invader . When they had finished , the two sets of calculations balanced exactly -- to the millionth of a degree and the thousandth of a second . At ten seconds to twelve , midnight , May the first , the comet , if not prevented by some tremendously powerful agency , would pierce the earth 's atmosphere , as Lennard had predicted . `` It is a marvellous piece of work , Mr Lennard , however good an instrument you had . As an astronomer I congratulate you heartily , but as citizens of the world I hope we shall be able to congratulate you still more heartily on the results which you expect that big gun of yours to bring about . '' `` I 'm sure I hope so , '' said Lennard , toying rather absently with his pencil .