The Milky Way Galaxy and Statistical Cosmology, 18901924 by ... - 9780521027342

The Milky Way Galaxy and Statistical Cosmology, 18901924Author(s): Erich Robert Paul\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9780521027342, 978-0521027342\nSynopsis\nBetween the years 1890 and 1924, the dominant view of the universe suggested a cosmology largely foreign to contemporary ideas. First, astronomers believed they had confirmed that the sun was roughly in the centre of the Milky Way galaxy. Second, considerable evidence indicated that the size of the galaxy was only about one-third the value now accepted by today's astronomers. Third, it was thought that interstellar space was completely transparent, that there was no absorbing material between the stars. Fourth, astronomers believed that the universe was composed of numerous star systems comparable to the Milky Way galaxy. The method that provided this picture and came to dominate cosmology was 'statistical' in nature, because it was based on.