The three friends, having nothing better to do, continued their observations; but they could not yet determine the topographical position of the satellite; every relief was levelled under the reflection of the solar rays. They watched thus through the side windows until eight o'clock at night. The moon had then grown so large in their eyes that it filled half of the firmament. The sun on one side, and the orb of night on the other, flooded the projectile with light. At that moment Barbicane thought he could estimate the distance which separated them from their aim at no more than 700 leagues. The speed of the projectile seemed to him to be more than 200 yards, or about 170 leagues a second. Under the centripetal force, the base of the projectile tended towards the moon; but the centrifugal still prevailed; and it was probable that its rectilineal course would be changed to a curve of some sort, the nature of which they could not at present determine. Barbicane was still seeking the solution of his insoluble problem. Hours passed without any result. The projectile was evidently _nearing_ the moon, but it was also evident that it would never _reach_ her. As to the nearest distance at which it would pass her, that must be the result of the two forces, attraction and repulsion, affecting its motion. "I ask but one thing," said Michel; "that we may pass near enough to penetrate her secrets." "Cursed be the thing that has caused our projectile to deviate from its course," cried Nicholl. And, as if a light had suddenly broken in upon his mind, Barbicane answered, "Then cursed be the meteor which crossed our path." "What?" said Michel Ardan. "What do you mean?" exclaimed Nicholl. "I mean," said Barbicane in a decided tone, "I mean that our deviation is owing solely to our meeting with this erring body." "But it did not even brush us as it passed," said Michel. "What does that matter? Its mass, compared to that of our projectile, was enormous, and its attraction was enough to influence our course." "So little?" cried Nicholl. "Yes, Nicholl; but however little it might be," replied Barbicane, "in a distance of 84,000 leagues, it wanted no more to make us miss the moon." CHAPTER X. THE OBSERVERS OF THE MOON. Barbicane had evidently hit upon the only plausible reason of this deviation. However slight it might have been, it had sufficed to modify the course of the projectile. It was a fatality. The bold attempt had miscarried by a fortuitous circumstance; and unless by some exceptional event, they could now never reach the moon's disc. Would they pass near enough to be able to solve certain physical and geological questions until then insoluble? This was the question, and the only one, which occupied the minds of these bold travellers. As to the fate in store for themselves, they did not even dream of it.