On the transparency of Space. [Olbers's Paradox].

Edinburgh, Adam Black, 1826. 8vo (22.5 x 14.4 cm). Ten pp. [numbered 141-150]. Original printed wrappers. = First English edition of Olbers's famous Paradox. The German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers (1758-1840) wondered why the night sky was dark, as "darkness of the night sky conflicts with the assumption of an infinite and eternal static universe. In the hypothetical case that the universe is static, homogeneous at a large scale, and populated by an infinite number of stars, any line of sight from Earth must end at the surface of a star and hence the night sky should be completely illuminated and very bright. This contradicts the observed darkness and non-uniformity of the night" (Wikipedia). This has become known as Olbers's Paradox, the subject of this paper. Otherwise, Olbers is remembered as the discoverer of two of the largests planetoids in an orbit between Mars and Jupiter, viz., Pallas, and Vesta, and several comets. Published in the Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, exhibiting a view of the progressive discoveries and improvements in the Sciences and the Arts, conducted by Professor Jameson. April . July 1826. We offer the whole issue, with 208 pp. Uncut. With the widest possible margins. Binding weak; front wrapper with a small stamp and inscription. Spine cover mostly perished, mildly foxed inside, otherwise very good. Houzeau and Lancaster, p. 1641.