Editing Kepler conjecture (section)

==Origins==
[[Image:Kepler conjecture 2.jpg|thumb|One of the diagrams from ''Strena Seu de Nive Sexangula'', illustrating the Kepler conjecture]]
The conjecture was first stated by {{harvs|txt|author-link=Johannes Kepler|first=Johannes|last= Kepler|year=1611}} in his paper 'On the six-cornered snowflake'. He had started to study arrangements of spheres as a result of his correspondence with the English mathematician and astronomer [[Thomas Harriot]] in 1606. Harriot was a friend and assistant of [[Sir Walter Raleigh]], who had asked Harriot to find formulas for counting stacked cannonballs, an assignment which in turn led Raleigh's mathematician acquaintance into wondering about what the best way to stack cannonballs was.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Leutwyler |first1=Kristin |title=Stack 'em Tight |journal=Scientific American |date=1998-09-14 |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/stack-em-tight/ |access-date=2021-11-15 |language=en}}</ref> Harriot published a study of various stacking patterns in 1591, and went on to develop an early version of [[atomic theory]].