The geometrical structure of space entered astronomy in the second half of the nineteenth century, but slowly and hesitantly. Although in this period non-Euclidean geometry became a very important branch of mathe- matics, it aroused little interest among the astronomers. Nonetheless, there were more contributors to 'non- Euclidean astronomy' than usually supposed, and their attempts to forge links between the new geometries and the astronomical sciences merit attention. While some astronomers, such as R.S. Ball and K. Schwarzschild, discussed the observational evidence for curved space, in one case the hypothesis was used to solve a cosmological problem, namely, Olbers' Paradox. This paper reviews developments from N.I. Lobachevsky in 1829 to P. Harzer in 1908.

Writings of Charles S. Peirce: A Chronological Edition, Volume 8

Citations

Is space flat? nineteenth-century astronomy and non-euclidean geometry

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