Olbers

[ ohl-berz; German awl-bers ]

noun

1. Hein·rich Wil·helm Mat·thä·us [hahyn, -, r, i, kh, , vil, -helm mah-, te, -, oo, s], 1758–1840, German astronomer and physician.

Example Sentences

People have been asking why space is dark despite being filled with stars for so long that this question has a special name – Olbers’ paradox.

From Scientific American

On March 28, 1802, German physician and astronomer Heinrich Olbers discovered Pallas; this was rapidly followed by Juno in 1804 and Vesta in 1807.

From Salon

For centuries, the darkness of the night sky was the source of a paradox named after the German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers.

From New York Times

By 1810, probability theory was properly brought to bear on the issue, when German astronomer Wilhelm Olbers calculated that a comet hits Earth roughly every 220 million years.

From Salon

I finally get the answer to the classic astronomy riddle known as Olbers’ Paradox.

From Scientific American