Geocentric model
● Earth at the center of the universe → Sun, Moon, stars and planets all orbit Earth
○ Sun: appears to revolve around Earth once per day, with westward motion
○ Moon & Planets: appear to revolve around Earth once per day
○ Stars: apparent motion around Earth once a day, follow a circular path
● Hour after hour westwards motion of celestial objects
○ Move westwards
○ Celestial objects revolve around Earth
● Day after day eastward motion of the Sun, Moon, and planets relative to stars
○ Inconsistent movement
■ Sun has a yearly eastward motion compared to the stars
■ Moon has a monthly eastward motion compared to the stars
■ Planets have a general eastward motion and retrograde motion compared
to the stars
● Philosophy/ Physics
○ Celestial objects fixed on spheres made of aether naturally moves in circles
○ Earth seems to be unmoving
● What is retrograde motion?
○ Planets generally drift slowly eastwards relative to stars
○ BUT periodically, a planet appears to stop its eastward drift, drifting back to the
west
○ Then, it resumes its normal motion to the east
● What is aether?
○ Ancient science: material that fills the region of the Universe beyond Earth
○ Naturally moved in circles (rotates naturally)
Eccentric Model
● Earth is slightly away from the center of the universe (Hipparchus)
Equant
● Celestial objects revolve around Equant, which is slightly close to the center of the
universe and opposite to the Earth from Eccentric (Ptolemy)
Heliocentrism (alternative to Geocentrism)
● Earth and planets revolve around the Sun at the center of the Universe
● Earth rotates about its axis
○ Hour after hour explained
● Moon revolves around Earth, Earth and planets revolve around the Sun
○ Day after day explained
○ Retrograde motion explained
○ Change in the brightness of planets explained
● Presented by Nicolaus Copernicus → ended Copernican Revolution when Newton did
his physics shit
SCHOLAR: Plato
● Model of Universe
○ Geocentric Model
● Day after day eastward motion of the Sun, Moon, and planets relative to stars
SCHOLAR: Eudoxus
● Model of Universe
○ Geocentric Model
● Day after day eastward motion of the Sun, Moon, and planets relative to stars
○ Explanation
■ Homocentric spheres – two concentric spheres centred on Earth
● Retrograde motion of planets
○ Explanation
■ 2 additional concentric spheres added
● Changes in the brightness of planets
○ Unable to explain this phenomenon
● Data
○ Ancient observational data (naked eyes)
SCHOLAR: Hipparchus
● Model of Universe
○ Geocentric Model (Eccentric Model)
● Day after day eastward motion of the Sun, Moon, and planets relative to stars
○ Explanation
■
● Retrograde motion of planets
○ Explanation
■ Epicycle (small circle that moves along a larger circle)
● Changes in the brightness of planets
● The non-uniform motion of the Sun, Moon, and planets
● The non-uniform motion of the Moon, Earth, and planets
● Data
○ Ancient observational data (naked eyes)
SCHOLAR: Ptolemy
● Model of Universe
○ Geocentric Model
● Day after day eastward motion of the Sun, Moon, and planets relative to stars
○
● Retrograde motion of planets
○ Explanation
■ Epicycle (small circle that moves along a larger circle)
● Changes in the brightness of planets
○ Explanation
■ Epicycle (small circle that moves along a larger circle)
● Causes planet to vary its distance → Change in brightness due to
change in distance
● The non-uniform motion of the Sun, Moon, and planets
○ Sun, Moon, and planets move at constant angular speed with respect to the
equant
● The non-uniform motion of the Moon, Earth, and planets + unequal lengths of the
seasons
○ Equant could not explain this
● Data
○ Ancient observational data (naked eyes)
SCHOLAR: Copernicus
● Model of Universe
○ Heliocentric Model
● The non-uniform motion of the Sun, Moon, and planets
○ Did not explain
● The non-uniform motion of the Moon, Earth, and planets
○ Two (or more) epicycles
○ Dude hated equant
● Data
○ Ancient observational data + telescope?
SCHOLAR: Tycho
● Model of Universe
○ Combine Geocontrism with Heliocentrism
■ Earth is at the center of the Universe BUT the Sun and Moon revolve
around Earth; Planets revolve around Sun
● Day after day explained
● Retrograde explained
● The change in the brightness explained
● Data
○ His own observations (q accurate and comprehensive + had large instruments
SCHOLAR: Kepler
● Model of Universe
○ Heliocentrism – but related to his religious, non-scientific motives → other
scholars did not want to accept this explanation
■ Speed of planets weaken with distance from the Sun
● Day after day eastward motion of Sun, Moon, planets relative to
stars explained
● Retrograde motion of planets explained
● Change in the brightness of planets explained
● Came up with 3 laws to explain non-uniform motion of Moon, Earth and planets
explained
○ First Law
■ Orbit of planets is an ellipse with the Sun at one of 2 foci → eccentricity
○ Second Law
■ A line segment joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas
during equal time intervals
○ Third Law
2
2 4π 3
■ 𝑇 = ( 𝐺𝑀 )𝑟 – orbitual period proportional to cube of orbitual radius
● Data
○ Used Tycho’s data
SCHOLAR: Galileo Galilei
● Model of Universe
○ Heliocentirsm + matched physics
● Data
○ Telescope → improved it up to 30x magnification
● Venus phases – similar to that of the moon → cannot be explained with geocentrism
○ When Venus is between Sun and Earth = Crescent
○ When Earth is between Sun and Venus = Gibbous
Newton → provided proper physics for Heliocentrism
𝐺𝑀𝑚
● Law of universal gravitation 𝐹 = 2
𝑟
○ All bodies attract one another
○ Force between them is directly proportional to the product of mass and inversely
proportional to the square of distance between them
SCHOLAR:
● Model of Universe
● Hour after hour westward motion of celestial objects
● Philosophy/ Physics
● Day after day eastward motion of the Sun, Moon, and planets relative to stars
● Retrograde motion of planets
● Changes in the brightness of planets
● The non-uniform motion of the Sun, Moon, and planets
● The non-uniform motion of the Moon, Earth, and planets
● Data
