1 a.m.
Copernicus forms the most important radiating system in the southern hemisphere , according to Tycho Brahe . It rises isolated like a gigantic lighthouse over that of the Sea of Clouds bordering on the Sea of Tempests , and it lights two oceans at once with its splendid rays . Those long luminous trails , so dazzling at full moon , made a spectacle without an equal ; they pass the boundary chains on the north , and stretch as far as the Sea of Rains . At 1 a.m. , terrestrial time , the projectile , like a balloon carried into space , hung over this superb mountain . Barbicane could perfectly distinguish its chief features . Copernicus is comprehended in the series of annular mountains of the first order in the division of the large amphitheatres . Like the mountains of Kepler and Aristarchus , which overlook the Ocean of Tempests , it appears sometimes like a brilliant point through the pale light , and used to be taken for a volcano in activity .