midnight
But the moon grew larger before their eyes , and they thought they had only to stretch out their hands to touch it . The next day , the 5th of December , they were all wide awake at 5 a.m. . That day was to be the last of their journey if the calculations were exact . That same evening , at midnight , within eighteen hours , at the precise moment of full moon , they would reach her brilliant disc . The next midnight would bring them to the goal of their journey , the most extraordinary one of ancient or modern times . At early dawn , through the windows made silvery with her rays , they saluted the Queen of Night with a confident and joyful hurrah . The moon was sailing majestically across the starry firmament .