Off on a Comet
1877 novel about a comet carrying Earth fragments through space.
In Jules Verne's 1877 science fiction novel *Off on a Comet* (originally titled *Hector Servadac*), a comet grazes Earth and sweeps away a handful of people and debris. The comet then travels through the solar system before eventually bringing its passengers back to Earth.
The story begins on January 1 of an unspecified year in the 1880s, near Gibraltar, when a comet named Gallia strikes the planet. Thirty-six people—French, English, Spanish, and Russian—are carried off on the chunk of territory torn away. Initially, they mistake the event for an earthquake. Soon, strange phenomena emerge: Captain Servadac’s adjutant, Ben Zoof, leaps 12 meters high; day and night cycle in just six hours; east and west are reversed; and water boils at 66 °C, revealing a thinner atmosphere and lower pressure. The travelers spot Earth and its Moon but mistake them for an unknown planet. They explore by ship, also taken by the comet, and discover a mountain range blocking what they think is the Mediterranean. On the island of Formentera (formerly part of the Balearic Islands), they find French astronomer Palmyrin Rosette, who explains everything: they are on a comet he discovered a year earlier and predicted would hit Earth, but thick fog prevented anyone from believing him.
A later expedition measures Gallia’s circumference at 2,320 kilometers. Rosette calculates the comet’s mass at 209,346 billion tonnes using a spring scale and forty 5-franc silver coins (which weigh exactly 1 kilogram on Earth). However, the scale’s owner, Isaac Hakkabut, had rigged it, so the result must be reduced by a quarter. The castaways cannot farm the barren comet and survive on animals left behind. The sea does not freeze despite sub-zero temperatures—until a stone is thrown in, at which point it instantly freezes into smooth ice for skating and sleigh sailing.
Old Earth rivalries persist: French and English officers claim authority, arguing over Spanish Ceuta, now an island. Servadac tries to occupy it but fails, discovering the English have already taken it and communicate with Gibraltar via optical telegraph. Gallia reaches its farthest point and heads back to Earth. In early November, Rosette’s refined calculations show a second collision on January 1, exactly two years after the first. The group decides to escape in a balloon made from ship sails.
- Author
- Jules Verne
- Published
- 1877
- Original language
- French
- Genre
- Science fiction
- Known for
- Depicting a comet carrying Earth fragments through the Solar System
Lore & Background
The story begins on January 1 of the year 188x when a comet called Gallia touches Earth near Gibraltar, carrying away a chunk of territory with 36 people of French, English, Spanish, and Russian nationality. The castaways initially mistake the event for an earthquake. They notice strange phenomena: weight loss allowing jumps of 12 meters, a six-hour day-night cycle, reversed east and west, and water boiling at 66 °C due to thinner atmosphere. They later discover the Earth and Moon, mistaking them for an unknown planet. French astronomer Palmyrin Rosette, found on the island of Formentera, reveals they are on a comet he had predicted would collide with Earth, but his warnings were ignored due to fog. The comet's circumference is measured at 2,320 km, and its mass is calculated at 209,346 billion tonnes, though the scales used were rigged, requiring a quarter reduction. The castaways survive on animals from the carried chunk and note that the sea does not freeze until a stone is thrown into it. Old power disputes persist, with French and English officers claiming territory. Gallia reaches its orbital extreme and returns to Earth, with a second collision predicted exactly two years after the first. The castaways escape in a balloon made from ship sails, landing safely near Mostaganem in Algeria.
Reader's Guide
Off on a Comet is significant as a classic example of Jules Verne's scientific romance, blending adventure with speculative astronomy. The novel explores themes of survival, national rivalry, and the limits of human knowledge, as the castaways use observation and deduction to understand their new world. Verne originally intended a tragic ending with all characters dying, but publisher Hetzel insisted on an optimistic conclusion, leading to the balloon escape. The book's publication history is complex, with multiple English translations—including those by Ellen E. Frewer, Edward Roth, and an anonymous translator—each altering the text to varying degrees. The Frewer translation, for instance, paraphrases dialogue and rearranges material, while the Roth translation is more literal but incomplete. The novel has been reprinted in various forms, including as a graphic novel in Classics Illustrated #149 (1959) and as an appendix to Adam Roberts' Splinter (2007). Its legacy lies in its imaginative depiction of a comet journey and its influence on later space adventure fiction.
Did You Know?
- The novel was originally titled Hector Servadac in French, and the name 'Servadac' mirrors the French word cadavres ('corpses'), reflecting Verne's original plan for all characters to die.
- The comet's mass was calculated using spring scales and forty 5-franc silver coins, but the scales were rigged by Isaac Hakkabut, requiring results to be cut by a quarter.
- The sea on the comet did not freeze until a stone was thrown into it, after which it froze instantly into smooth ice suitable for skating and sleigh sailing.
- The English translation by Ellen E. Frewer was made from the serial version of the novel, published January to December 1877, and alters the text considerably.
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