Astronomy in Flatland

Society Meeting

Thursday, 11th December 2025 (19:45 - 22:00)

Venue: Meeting Room

 In 1885, Edwin Abbott published a book called 'Flatland' which was about a two-dimensional world. The 'hero' was Mr A Square and other inhabitants included triangles, hexagons etc. Other authors have produced different variations on a two-dimensional universe. Such universes can be extended to include astronomy and this talk considers what astronomy would be like in a 2-dimensional universe. One significant change is that gravity is not inverse-square but is instead simply inversely proportional to distance. The shapes of orbits are different as a result. This talk will consider many aspects of astronomy in a 2-dimensional universe including orbits, seasons, eclipses, meteors, aurora etc. The talk will conclude by considering universes with alternative numbers of dimensions, 4-dimensional, 1-dimensional and 0-dimensional. It can be concluded that, other that the 3-dimensional universe, the two-dimensional is most interesting.

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Speaker: Dr. Colin Steele

Colin Steele, is an amateur astronomer with professional experience who enjoys giving talks on a wide variety of astronomical topics. Inspired by early events including Apollo Moon landings. Studied Mathematics and Astronomy and Astrophysics, St Andrews University, 1982-1986. PhD in Applied Mathematics (Dynamics of Solar Prominences), 1986-1990. Teaching of Mathematics to students in many parts of University of Manchester, since 1993. Joined Dundee AS, 1978. BAA 1985, Many other societies. Member of IAU.

Learn more about Dr. Colin Steele