Abstract
THIS popular account of the structure of the universe, so far as it can be understood with the means of inquiry now at the disposal of astronomers, should serve a useful purpose in directing attention to the position of the most difficult problem of celestial science. To early philosophers it was sufficient regard the heavens as a solid and crystalline firmament in which the stars are fixed; facts of observation were not considered essential for the metaphysical foundation upon which the great minds of antiquity sought to support their universe. The ingenious framework of solid concentric spheres and epicyclic motions was shown to be a baseless fabric by Tycho Brahe's considerations of the orbits of comets, and was finally discredited by the law of gravitation.
Modern Cosmogonies.
By Agnes M. Clerke. Pp. vi + 287. (London: A. and C. Black.) Price 3s. 6d. net.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
G., R. Modern Cosmogonies . Nature 74, 350 (1906). https://doi.org/10.1038/074350b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/074350b0