Copernicus's heliocentric model was initially met with skepticism and disbelief for several reasons, but primarily due to the limitations of the model and the scientific understanding of the time.
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The Moon Orbiting Earth: Copernicus's model retained the idea that the moon orbited the Earth, which meant that it was not a fully heliocentric model in the modern sense. This aspect could cause confusion and lead to a lack of acceptance among those who still held onto the geocentric model.
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Against Religious Teachings: The heliocentric model challenged the prevailing geocentric view that was widely accepted in religious contexts. Many people believed that the Earth was the center of the universe, as supported by certain interpretations of religious texts. This created additional resistance to Copernicus’s ideas.
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Retrograde Motion: Although Copernicus's model was an improvement over the Ptolemaic geocentric model in explaining planetary motion, it did not adequately explain the phenomenon of retrograde motion in a way that would have convinced skeptics. Kepler and later astronomers provided more accurate descriptions and predictions of planetary movements through their work, which included elliptical orbits.
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Inclusion of Planets: Copernicus’s initial model did not include the understanding of all eight planets as we know them today, particularly the outer planets (Uranus and Neptune) that were discovered later. This absence contributed to perceptions of incompleteness and lack of evidence in his model.
Overall, the model faced resistance not only due to its scientific shortcomings but also because of cultural and religious contexts. It was the detailed observations and explanations provided by later astronomers like Galileo, with his telescope, and Kepler, with his laws of planetary motion, that helped substantiate and ultimately lead to broader acceptance of the heliocentric model.
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