Olbers' paradox is the argument that the darkness of the night sky conflicts with the assumption of an infinite, eternal, static universe uniformly filled with stars: in such a universe every line of sight should eventually end on a star's surface, making the whole sky as bright as the Sun. The expansion of the universe, its finite age, and redshift together resolve the paradox in modern cosmology.
Facts
Concept Domain Formulated Year Proposed ByHeinrich Wilhelm Olbers 1 Earlier astronomers, including Johannes Kepler, had discussed versions of the same puzzle. Connections
Associated With
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Sources
1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia FoundationOlbers' paradox, history section
the German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers (1758-1840) described it in 1823
- Associated With: Big Bang Theory
- Associated With: Redshift
View the Source Olbers' paradox (Wikipedia)
Olbers' paradox, lead section
the darkness of the night sky conflicts with the assumption of an infinite and eternal static universe.
In Group: Cosmic Paradoxes and the Fate of the Universe, Lead sentence
Olbers' paradox, also known as the dark night paradox or Olbers and Cheseaux's paradox, is a historical argument in astrophysics and physical cosmology that says the darkness of the night sky conflicts with the assumption of an infinite and eternal static universe.
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