“The intrinsic brightness of the Sun is fully 5,000 times as great as if the whole surface were formed of the molten steel just issuing from the Bessemer converter.”

The Story of the Sun, London, 1906, p. 103

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Robert Stawell Ball6

Irish astronomer 1840–1913

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Sind wirklich im ganzen unendlichen Raum Sonnen vorhanden, sie mögen nun in ungefähr gleichen Abständen von einander, oder in Milchstrassen-Systeme vertheilt sein, so wird ihre Menge unendlich, und da müsste der ganze Himmel ebenso hell sein, wie die Sonne. Denn jede Linie, die ich mir von unserm Auge gezogen denken kann, wird nothwendig auf irgend einen Fixstern treffen, und also müßte uns jeder Punkt am Himmel Fixsternlicht, also Sonnenlicht zusenden.
Olbers' paradox, expressed in [Ueber die Durchsichtigkeit des Weltraums, Astronomisches Jahrbuch für das Jahr 1826, J. Bode. Berlin, Späthen 1823, 110-121]

“The intrinsic brightness of the Sun is fully 5,000 times as great as if the whole surface were formed of the molten steel just issuing from the Bessemer converter.”

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Robert Stawell Ball6

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