Lord Kelvin's estimate of the world being 100 million years old is presented as the discovery of its extreme age. This had been done decades earlier by geologists studying ancient rocks.
Lord Kelvin tried to put a limit on the age of the earth, based on it still being hot inside. Geologists said it must be older, and were correct. The problem was resolved when it was realised that radioactive elements were helping to keep the Earth warm.
Lord Kelvin tried to put a limit on the age of the earth, based on it still being hot inside. Geologists said it must be older, and were correct. The problem was resolved when it was realised that radioactive elements were helping to keep the Earth warm.
The discovery of Sirius moving away from us is presented as a sudden discovery of the vastness of the universe. This was in fact obvious once it was realised that the sun was just another star. And in 1838, this was confirmed when the parallax of the star 61 Cygni showed that it was more than 10 light-years away.