Just as scientific knowledge of the heavens was limited in 1905, so was knowledge of the earth. True, people living a century ago knew more than their forebears.
وَمِثْلَمَا كَانَتِ ٱلْمَعْرِفَةُ ٱلْعِلْمِيَّةُ عَنِ ٱلْفَضَاءِ ٱلْخَارِجِيِّ مَحْدُودَةً عَامَ ١٩٠٥ ،‏ كَذلِكَ ٱلْمَعْرِفَةُ عَنِ ٱلْأَرْضِ .‏