midnight on
December
Finally , the Gun Club had constructed , at enormous expense , a gigantic telescope , which , from the summit of Long 's Peak , could pursue the Projectile as it winged its way through the regions of space . Everything at last was ready . On December 1st , at the appointed moment , in the midst of an immense concourse of spectators , the departure took place , and , for the first time in the world 's history , three human beings quitted our terrestrial globe with some possibility in their favor of finally reaching a point of destination in the inter-planetary spaces . They expected to accomplish their journey in 97 hours , 13 minutes and 20 seconds , consequently reaching the Lunar surface precisely at midnight on December 5-6 , the exact moment when the Moon would be full . Unfortunately , the instantaneous explosion of such a vast quantity of gun-cotton , by giving rise to a violent commotion in the atmosphere , generated so much vapor and mist as to render the Moon invisible for several nights to the innumerable watchers in the Western Hemisphere , who vainly tried to catch sight of her . In the meantime , J.T. Marston , the Secretary of the Gun Club , and a most devoted friend of Barbican 's , had started for Long 's Peak , Colorado , on the summit of which the immense telescope , already alluded to , had been erected ; it was of the reflecting kind , and possessed power sufficient to bring the Moon within a distance of five miles . While Marston was prosecuting his long journey with all possible speed , Professor Belfast , who had charge of the telescope , was endeavoring to catch a glimpse of the Projectile , but for a long time with no success .