Contemporary neglect and later rediscovery
- When
- 1784–1970s
- Where
- posthumous reception and rediscovery
The dark-star idea made little impression on Michell's contemporaries and was forgotten until his writings re-surfaced in the 1970s.
It has been written that Michell was so far ahead of his time that the idea "made little impression" on his contemporaries. The American Physical Society states that he died in quiet obscurity and his notion of a 'dark star' was forgotten until his writings re-surfaced in the 1970s. Michell had suggested there might be many such objects in the universe; astronomers today believe black holes exist at the centers of most galaxies.
Sources
- John Michell Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-01
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.