3 a.m.
They were to make his work of observer easier . They had excellent marine glasses specially constructed for this journey . They magnified objects a hundred times ; they would therefore have reduced the distance between the earth and the moon to less than 1,000 leagues . But then at a distance which towards 3 a.m. did not exceed a hundred miles , and in a medium which no atmosphere obstructed , these instruments brought the lunar level to less than fifteen hundred metres . `` Have you ever seen the moon ? '' a professor asked one of his pupils ironically . `` No , sir , '' answered the pupil more ironically still , `` but I have heard it spoken of . ''