In a series of letters to a friend, the Durham astronomer Thomas Wright set out to explain the Milky Way, proposing that the stars form a vast flattened layer seen from within, and that the visible heavens may hold many such creations. Illustrated with plates, the work mixes careful astronomy with theology and reflection on humanity’s place in an immense cosmos.
A landmark of cosmology that helped inspire Kant’s theory of the galaxy, for anyone interested in the history of astronomy. Download the free EPUB.