The Heavenly Bodies

Their Nature and Habitability

English · 1883 · 10h 50m · Science

In Heavenly Bodies, William Miller considers the question of whether worlds beyond Earth are inhabited—a subject often called the “plurality of worlds.” The book takes up a question with no immediate practical consequence, but one that has long invited speculation and scientific inquiry.

Published in 1883, this work belongs to a tradition of writing that weighs what can be known about the wider universe against what remains conjecture. Its focus is less on a story than on an enduring question at the meeting point of astronomy, science, and human curiosity.

For listeners interested in historical scientific thought and the ideas people have brought to the possibility of life beyond Earth, Miller’s book offers a window into a debate that has occupied many generations.