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Copernicus developed a heliocentric model of the universe that was more accurate than Aristotle's model. Discuss 2 reasons the new model was not accepted for many years.(4 points)
Copernicus developed a heliocentric model of the universe that was more accurate than Aristotle's model. Discuss 2 reasons the new model was not accepted for many years.(4 points)
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GPT-5 mini
1) Lack of convincing observational evidence.
- No stellar parallax was observed in Copernicus’s time, so the stars did not appear to shift as the Earth moved; this made the idea of a moving Earth seem physically implausible. Telescopes and measuring methods were not yet good enough (parallax was first measured in 1838), and Copernicus still used circular orbits and epicycles, so his model did not produce much better predictive accuracy than the Ptolemaic system.
2) Strong religious, philosophical and institutional resistance.
- The heliocentric view contradicted the common-sense impression that the Earth is stationary and clashed with literal readings of Scripture and the long‑established Aristotelian worldview taught in universities. There was also no convincing mechanical theory (no concept of inertia or gravity) to explain why people and objects would remain on a moving Earth, so acceptance required major changes in theology, natural philosophy, and scientific evidence.
- No stellar parallax was observed in Copernicus’s time, so the stars did not appear to shift as the Earth moved; this made the idea of a moving Earth seem physically implausible. Telescopes and measuring methods were not yet good enough (parallax was first measured in 1838), and Copernicus still used circular orbits and epicycles, so his model did not produce much better predictive accuracy than the Ptolemaic system.
2) Strong religious, philosophical and institutional resistance.
- The heliocentric view contradicted the common-sense impression that the Earth is stationary and clashed with literal readings of Scripture and the long‑established Aristotelian worldview taught in universities. There was also no convincing mechanical theory (no concept of inertia or gravity) to explain why people and objects would remain on a moving Earth, so acceptance required major changes in theology, natural philosophy, and scientific evidence.