Poe was also a pioneer in the use of sound effects used to induce feelings in the reader.... Poe also apparently believed that some sort of rhythmic, cyclical sound was involved in the afterlife...that sound occurred several times in circumstances that were linked in his works to the afterlife. (from my senior thesis)

It's hard to overstate the influence of Alexander von Humboldt.

Surprising that he is so little known among the ranks of our scientific heroes.

I read all these Poe's predictions many years ago in physic books. Before Poe, Plato came to same solutions with thought experiments.

Extremely interesting, read the all article. For more about the [0] Olbers' Paradox you should also read the wiki page.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olbers%27s_paradox