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Question

Nicolaus Copernicus was a Polish astronomer who studied the idea of a Sun-centered model of the universe in the early sixteenth century. There were several reasons why Copernicus chose a Sun-centered model over Ptolemy’s Earth-centered model.

Ptolemy’s model was used to predict the future position of a planet for a given night, years into the future. Over time, however, Ptolemy’s model would change the planet’s position as much as two degrees! Scientists had to adjust each planet’s position on their charts. Copernicus realized these changes were a signal: Ptolemy’s model had major flaws.

The idea that Earth was the center of the universe had become a part of religious teachings. Copernicus was a devout Catholic, so this Earth-centered idea presented a religious challenge for him. The heliocentric model, where the Earth and other planets orbit the Sun, would provide good data to the scientific community. It would also establish an accurate calendar that would help Roman Catholics observe holy days at the right time.



Why did Copernicus pursue a model different than Ptolemy’s?

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Question 22 pts
Copernicus: Launching a Scientific Revolution

Throughout Copernicus’s life, and even after his death, Ptolemy’s model was the most accepted. However, publication of his most famous work, On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres, initiated the Copernican Revolution. The Copernican Revolution presented a shift from Ptolemy’s geocentric model to the heliocentric model with the Sun at the center of the Solar System. It also encouraged a new approach to scientific thought. His work is commonly cited as the start of the Scientific Revolution.

The Scientific Revolution refers to changes in thoughts and beliefs in modern science that occurred from 1550-1700. The Scientific Revolution dared society to look at the world in a new and different light.

The Roman Catholic Church opposed many of the discoveries that sparked the Scientific Revolution. Many believe Copernicus had a good relationship with the church. Besides being a famous astronomer, Copernicus was respected as a priest and an active member in the church. In fact, he dedicated his most famous works to Pope Paul III.



2. What was the main difference between the Ptolemy model and the Copernican model?



3. What was the Scientific Revolution?

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Question 31 pts
Evaluating the Copernican Model

Although Copernicus accurately placed the Sun in the center of our system, he kept many of Ptolemy’s elements in his theories. This caused a number of flaws in his predictions. Like Ptolemy, Copernicus assumed that the planets move in circular orbits and at constant speeds. He also used epicycles as a means to address these two flaws. Based on the basic data available at the time, the Copernican model also provided flawed predictions for planetary motion.

Copernicus missed the mark in predicting accurate planetary motion, but his model satisfied two other important criteria for scientific models. His model passed the test of simplicity and predictive power. The Ptolemaic model required different rules to explain why the observed movements of Mercury and Venus differ from other planets, but the heliocentric model naturally (and simply) accounted for the motions of Mercury and Venus inside the Earth’s orbit.

Predictive power, the second criterion for scientific models, refers to the ability of a given theory to allow predictions to be made. For example, Copernicus thought, correctly, that stellar parallax, which is defined as the shift in position of a nearby star when seen from two different places, would exist. By observing this shift from two different locations, a measurement of distance could be made. This theory allowed a prediction to be made and tested.



4. What were the major flaws in the Copernican model?

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Kepler’s First Law: The Significance of the Ellipse

What are Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion? Why are they important? Let’s consider each one in detail. With Tycho’s data at hand, Kepler worked hard to make his observations of Mars’ positions, match up with a circular orbit. Over time, Kepler found that an ellipse, not a circle, would best fit the data. Kepler’s first law therefore replaced circular planetary motion with elliptical motions.

What is an ellipse? An ellipse is a geometrical shape where each point on the ellipse is at the same total distance from two fixed points, or foci. (“Foci” is the plural of focus).

An ellipse can be drawn by pushing two pins (the foci) into a board, separated by a random distance. Connect them tightly with a loop of string. Place a pencil within the loop and move it around the pins, keeping the loop tight. The string acts as a guide to draw the shape of an ellipse. Each point on the ellipse is at the same total distance from the two foci.



5. What did Kepler’s first law of motion prove regarding planetary orbits?

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Kepler’s Second Law: The Planets’ Changing Speeds

Let’s next look at Kepler’s second law of planetary motion. While observing Mars’s positions, Kepler noted changes in the speed of the planet as it moved closer to the Sun.

These observations led to Kepler’s second law, stating that planets move fastest at perihelion and slowest at aphelion. Perihelion refers to the planet’s closest approach to the Sun. Aphelion refers to the planet’s farthest distance from the Sun.



6. According to Kepler’s second law of motion when do planets move fastest?

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Question 61 pts
Kepler’s Third Law: The Implied Force of Gravity

What do we have left to uncover? It is the relationship between the time it takes a planet to orbit the Sun and its distance from the Sun. Kepler would be the first to suggest that a force (gravity) kept planets near the Sun. Kepler would also be the first to provide an equation for calculating the relationship between the time it takes a planet to orbit and its distance from the Sun.

Using Brahe’s data, Mars has an orbital period of 1.881 years. Because we know the period, we can calculate the distance of Mars from the Sun. And given a distance, we can calculate an orbital period.

Similar to the astronomers before him, Kepler provided more data for a heliocentric model of the solar system, replacing circular orbits with ellipses and observing the changing speeds of the planets. He laid a foundation for ongoing scientific study that would continue the Scientific Revolution and challenge the views of the world at the time.



7. According to Kepler’s third law of motion what keeps planets near the sun?

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Answer 1

1. Why did Copernicus pursue a model different than Ptolemy’s?
   Copernicus pursued a Sun-centered model over Ptolemy’s Earth-centered model because he recognized major flaws in Ptolemy's model, which exhibited inaccuracies in predicting planetary positions. Additionally, the heliocentric model aligned better with his scientific observations and allowed for better calendar accuracy, which was important for the Catholic Church.

2. What was the main difference between the Ptolemy model and the Copernican model?
   The main difference between the two models is that Ptolemy's model is geocentric (Earth-centered), where Earth is at the center of the universe, while the Copernican model is heliocentric (Sun-centered), positioning the Sun at the center of the Solar System and having the Earth and other planets orbit around it.

3. What was the Scientific Revolution?
   The Scientific Revolution refers to the changes in thoughts and beliefs in modern science that occurred from 1550-1700, which encouraged society to look at the world in a new and different light, and included significant scientific discoveries and a shift in scientific thought, notably from Ptolemy’s geocentric model to the heliocentric model.

4. What were the major flaws in the Copernican model?
   The major flaws in the Copernican model included the assumption that the planets moved in circular orbits at constant speeds and the continued use of epicycles, which resulted in inaccuracies in predicting planetary motion.

5. What did Kepler’s first law of motion prove regarding planetary orbits?
   Kepler’s first law of motion proved that planets move in elliptical orbits rather than circular orbits.

6. According to Kepler’s second law of motion when do planets move fastest?
   According to Kepler’s second law of motion, planets move fastest at perihelion (the closest approach to the Sun) and slowest at aphelion (the farthest distance from the Sun).

7. According to Kepler’s third law of motion what keeps planets near the sun?
   According to Kepler’s third law of motion, a force (gravity) keeps planets near the Sun, establishing a relationship between the time it takes a planet to orbit the Sun and its distance from the Sun.