ipl-logo

Copernicus's Heliocentric Model

1146 Words5 Pages

Prior to the Copernican revolution, the Ptolemaic model of the solar system was the dominant mode of understanding the solar system. It was a geocentric model, in which the sun, stars and planets orbited around a stationary Earth in epicycles. Ptolemy proposed a very complex model comprising over a hundred epicycles to explain the movement of celestial bodies (Ferris, 1997). Copernicus, in contrast, proposed a heliocentric model of the solar system in which planets orbited around the sun. Aside from this, he also proposed that the Earth rotated on its own axis, taking an entire day to complete a single revolution (Westman, 1998).

When we compare and contrast the Copernican and Ptolemaic models of the solar system, we find that the Copernican model was much simpler and had greater explanatory value. It was a much better system for the following reasons.

Firstly, the heliocentric model proposed by Copernicus was simpler than the geocentric one. There was still a need for epicycles to explain planetary motion as Copernicus postulated that planets moved in circular orbits …show more content…

Firstly, Greek philosophy places the Earth as the center of the universe. According to Aristotle, everything on Earth is comes from the four element: water, fire, air and earth in a constant cycle of decay and renewal while everything in the heavens was made of aether which was incorruptible and unchanging (MacLean, 2008). As a result of this, earthly elements were thought to fall towards the center of the Earth while aether and the perfect heavenly bodies must move in perfect circles. By proposing a heliocentric system, Copernicus defied the belief that the only perfect celestial bodies (and not the imperfect Earth) moved in perfect circles. At the same time, the sun which was considered a perfect celestial body would be put at the center of the solar system, a position reserved for the

Show More
Related

  • Renaissance Dbq Essay

    688 Words  | 3 Pages

    For instance, Roman astronomer; Ptolemy developed the “Geocentric” theory of the universe, in which the Earth was believed to be in the center of the universe. (Doc. C) Furthermore, polish astronomer; Nicolaus Copernicus, who relied on mathematics and observations created a different understanding of the universe, called the “Heliocentric” universe. Heliocentric meaning “sun-centered,” in other words meaning that the sun is believed to be at the center of the universe unlike the Geocentric theory. (Doc. C)

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit Thermometer-Used To Vasue The Scientific Revolution?

    607 Words  | 3 Pages

    As per Ptolemy, what was the world's position in the universe? How did Copernicus' perspective vary? as indicated by ptolemy the earth was the focal point of the universe and the majority of alternate planets, moons and the sun rotated around us. Copernicus perspective was that the sun is in the inside and w rotated around it. What are the four stages in the experimental system?

    Read More

  • Ap Euro Renaissance Dbq

    746 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the 1500’s, Nicolaus Copernicus, developed a different layout of the universe and created the heliocentric model, where the Sun was the center (Doc C). Although Ptolemy’s layout was more detailed, Copernicus’ model was more accurate than Ptolemy’s. With the advancements in science, Andreas Vesalius dissected human corpses to better explain the human body (Doc

    Read More

  • Scientific Revolution Dbq

    618 Words  | 3 Pages

    Other scientists like Nicolas Copernicus believed in the Heliocentric Theory. At first, it didn’t explain how the planets orbits the way they did and was very hesitant to share it with others. In 1601, another scientist named Johannes Kepler proved that Copernicus idea was correct. They show that the planets rotate around the sun. Another method Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo developed was called the Scientific Method.

    Read More

  • Galileo Trial Summary

    976 Words  | 4 Pages

    Autumn Stern Galileo Trial Summary + Copernicus Write Up In the early 17th century, there was no doubt that the Catholic church held extreme power throughout Europe. They also held to the geocentric theory (all planets, heavenly bodies and the sun revolving around the earth) put forth by Ptolemy and Aristotle because of how neatly it could fit into the current teachings. Unlike this theory, however, Galileo enforced Copernicus’ heliocentric theory with inductive reasoning rather than deductive. Galileo made observations about the moons of Jupiter and their orbit around Jupiter, which he likened to a smaller version of their solar system.

    Read More

  • Dbq Galileo Galilei

    249 Words  | 1 Pages

    Galileo Galilei was an Italian astronomer who disagreed with the Roman Catholic theory of geocentrism. He was not a heretic because he was a Christian and had similar beliefs to the Roman Catholics, but he did not agree with the Church’s theory of the position and movement of Earth in the Solar System. Document A is an excerpt of a letter to Duchess Christina of Tuscany written by Galilei, counter-arguing the heresy claims. In the letter, Galileo wrote, “Can an opinion be heretical and yet have no concern with the salvation of souls?” Although he did not believe in the astronomical theory of the Church, he believed that his scientific thoughts should not interfere with his religious beliefs.

    Read More

  • Renaissance Dbq Essay

    554 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the Middle Ages a Roman Astronomer named Ptolemy came up with the theory that all surrounding planets orbited around the Earth. Advancement in telescopes and technology helped Copernicus during the renaissance create a more logical and accurate theory which stated how the sun is in the middle of our universe and all planets orbited the sun. This changed the way man thought because it realized how small Earth is compared to the rest of the solar system and how we may not be

    Read More

  • Summary Of Galileo's Letter To Grand-Duchess Christina '

    456 Words  | 2 Pages

    Analysis of Galileo’s Letter to Grand-Duchess Christina During the time that Galileo wrote the letter to Grand-Duchess Christina, there was much debate about the orientation of the universe. There were two different theories of thought at this time. One was the Heliocentric Universe, which believed the sun was the center of the universe and the Earth orbits it.

    Read More

  • Why Do People Start To Believe The Heliocentric Model

    317 Words  | 2 Pages

    I think the reason why people started to believe the heliocentric model was that Kepler made a choice to trust the data over his preconceived beliefs, the same beliefs as most people during this time. Using mathematics, Kepler was able to share his new model of planetary motion, with three key features; it is known as Kepler’s law of planetary motion. This law predicted planetary motion and was enough for people to start to believe the heliocentric model. Then when Galileo was able to answer all three objections, which were rooted back to 2000 year old beliefs by Aristotle and other ancient Greeks, he was able to give the people what they needed to truly believe the heliocentric model.

    Read More

  • Scientific Revolution DBQ Essay

    317 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the 1500s and 1600s, the scientific revolution changes the way Europeans looked at the world, they began to make conclusion based on experimentation and observation instead of accepting traditional ideas. ‘’Although new knowledge emerged in many areas during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, including medicine, chemistry, and natural history, the scientific achievements that most captured the learned imagination and persuaded people of the cultural power of natural knowledge were those that occurred in astronomy.” (348) Nicolaus Copernicus was a polish astronomer who published On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, were he made two main conclusions, the universe is heliocentric not geocentric and the earth is one part of many

    Read More

  • How Did Religion Change During The Scientific Revolution

    1558 Words  | 7 Pages

    By using his eyes, Galileo confirmed the heliocentric theory and created his own in reply: the Copernican theory. His theory stated that the sun was at the center of the universe, with the earth and other planets rotating around it in elliptical paths and at uniform speeds. Copernicus had used Bacon’s implications that “seeing is believing.” He also theorized that the other planets were made of substances similar to those found on earth. These two ideas even furthered the notion that humans were not special to God because they inhabited an earth that looked like all the other planets.

    Read More

  • Kepler's Argument Against Gravity

    976 Words  | 4 Pages

    However Aristotle, thought that there must be some kind of natural force acting and that it had a tendency to push things towards Earth’s center. This idea, among other similar ones, are from before the 16th century but lasted till

    Read More

  • How Does Greek Mythology Influence Modern Society

    1659 Words  | 7 Pages

    Greek mythology’s effect on science was enormous; it involved the naming of planets, periodic table of elements and even constellations. The solar system’s planets and moons were named after Greek mythological characters. However, it was also given Roman version of it. “Sun, the center of our solar system was named after

    Read More

  • Johannes Kepler Research Paper

    456 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of Kepler’s contributions to science were his laws of planetary motion. The first law of Kepler's work consists of planets moving in a non circular motion with the sun at one point or focus (NASA, 2013). Orbits such as this are classified

    Read More

  • The Relationship Between The Scientific Revolution And The Enlightenment

    745 Words  | 3 Pages

    Copernicus developed the heliocentric theory which claimed that the earth revolved around the sun. This immediately challenged the authorities who believed the opposite. Galileo furthered Copernicus’ argument and promoted that the Bible, that God

    Read More

More about Copernicus's Heliocentric Model

Open Document