Paolo Molaro

Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste - INAF/OAT

Abstract

Edgar Allan Poe’s cosmology  in  Eureka, by P.Molaro & A.Cappi

The notion that we live in an evolving universe was established  only in the twentieth century with the ‘discovery’ of the recession of galaxies by Hubble  and  with the  Lemaitre  and  Friedmanns interpretation  in the 20s. However, the concept of an evolving universe is intrinsically tied to the law of universal gravitation, and it is surprising that it  remained unrecognized for more than two centuries. A remarkable exception to this  lack of awareness is represented by Poe. In Eureka (1848), the writer developed  a  conception of an evolving universe following the reasoning that a physical universe cannot be static and nothing can stop stars or galaxies from collapsing on each other. Unfortunately this literary   work was, and still is, very little understood both by the literary critics and scientists of the time. We will discuss  Poe’s cosmological views in  their historical scientific context, highlighting the remarkable insights of the writer, such as those dealing with the Olbers paradox, the existence of other galaxies and of a multi-universe.

 

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Biographical Details

Paolo Moraro was born in 1955 and gained his Phd  at SISSA with D. Sciama 1987. He became a professor in 2001 and was Director of the Trieste observatory from 2001-2003. He attended INSAP6 in Venice.