From the Earth to the Moon: who's who, timeline and places
Everyone in From the Earth to the Moon, what happens when, and where, without spoilers: tell us how far you have read and we show only what you already know.
- BarbicaneHe sends the idle Gun Club a circular announcing an important meeting.First seen in chapter 1
- Gun ClubIts Baltimore members invent artillery during wartime but become idle and frustrated when peace ends weapons testing.First seen in chapter 1
- J. T. MastonHe joins the technical discussion and celebrates the cannonball as an expression of human power.First seen in chapter 7
- Major ElphinstoneHe compares existing guns and argues for coarse powder during the committee’s discussion of the explosive charge.First seen in chapter 9
- MorganHe raises concerns about damage during the committee’s debate over the cannon’s explosive charge.First seen in chapter 9
- NichollHe is Barbicane’s rival over projectiles and armor, publicly opposing the lunar experiment and offering wagers against it.First seen in chapter 10
- MurchisonHe recruits skilled workers and helps Barbicane organize the excavation for the Columbiad.First seen in chapter 14
- Colonel BlomsberryHe saves Maston from falling into the completed cannon’s tube.First seen in chapter 16
- Michel ArdanHe sends Barbicane a telegram proposing to ride inside a different projectile.First seen in chapter 17
- Chapter 1
Peace leaves the Gun Club idle, and Barbicane announces an important meeting.
- Chapter 2
Barbicane proposes firing a projectile to the Moon, giving the Gun Club a new purpose.
- Chapter 4
The Cambridge Observatory confirms that the experiment is theoretically possible and specifies launch conditions.
- Chapter 7
Barbicane’s committee approves aluminum for a projectile that a mountain telescope could track.
- Chapter 10
Nicholl publicly attacks the project and offers five wagers, which Barbicane accepts.
- Chapter 13
Barbicane surveys Florida and selects Stones Hill as the site for the Columbiad.
- Chapter 15
Molten iron from 1,200 furnaces pours into the shaft to cast the Columbiad.
- Chapter 17
Michel Ardan sends a telegram proposing to travel inside a different projectile.
- Chapter 21
Ardan stops the quarrel between Barbicane and Nicholl by inviting both men to join his journey.
- Chapter 23
The equipped projectile arrives at Stones Hill, and Maston tests its sealed interior.
- Chapter 26
The three travelers enter the projectile, and Murchison fires the Columbiad before millions of spectators.
- Chapter 28
An observatory dispatch reports that the projectile has entered an orbit around the Moon.
- Chapter 30
Ardan revives his companions, and observations through the windows confirm that they have left Earth.
- Chapter 32
Calculations expose a difference in launch speeds, leading Barbicane to predict that they must fall back.
- Chapter 36
Nicholl stops an oxygen leak, and the recovering travelers experience weightlessness where Earth’s and the Moon’s attractions balance.
- Chapter 37
The travelers prepare for landing, but Barbicane attributes their sideways approach to a passing meteor’s attraction.
- Chapter 40
The travelers examine lunar mountains and craters while their destination remains uncertain.
- Chapter 43
A meteor’s explosion briefly lights the Moon’s hidden face, revealing possible seas, clouds, and forests.
- Chapter 44
Bright peaks near the south pole lead Barbicane to conclude that their path probably forms an ellipse around the Moon.
- Chapter 46
The travelers agree that the Moon is presently uninhabitable and discuss its possible former life.
- Chapter 47
A rocket attempt fails to send the projectile toward the Moon, leaving the travelers falling toward Earth.
- Chapter 48
A fiery object breaks the Susquehanna’s bowsprit and falls into the sea.
- Chapter 50
After unsuccessful underwater searches, the rescue party discovers the projectile floating with all three travelers alive.
- Chapter 51
The travelers return to Baltimore, publish their discoveries, and receive a nationwide welcome before an interstellar communication company forms.
Hidden until you have read that far.
- BaltimoreIt is the city where artillery inventors establish the Gun Club.First seen in chapter 1
- MoonIt is the destination Barbicane proposes reaching with a projectile fired by artillery.First seen in chapter 2
- projectileIt is the object Barbicane proposes firing toward the Moon.First seen in chapter 2
- FloridaIt is one of two states with suitable launch locations, and Barbicane chooses its town of Tampa.First seen in chapter 11
- Stones HillIt is the high, barren ground Barbicane selects in Florida for building the Columbiad.First seen in chapter 13
- spaceIt is the region Michel Ardan argues travelers can cross despite vast distances.First seen in chapter 19

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