Fugón Museum of Great People
Presenting: Renaissance Astronomers
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Nicolaus Copernicus
Galileo Galilei
Johannes Kepler
1. Ellipses-move along ellipses; sun being on the loci.
2. Areas-sweep equals areas around the sun in equal timeframes.
3. Periods-the square of the period is equal to the distance cubed.
Kepler also charted the orbit and position of many of planets.
The Evolution from Geocentric to Heliocentric Models
They believed earth was at the center of the universe. The sun and the orbited earth. Earth was motionless and had a complex system of epicycles.
Copernicus' Heliocentric Model
The rising and setting of the sun and moon and stars could be accounted for by a daily revolution of the earth. Copernicus simplified the number of epicycles to explain the backward motion of the planets.
Tycho Brahe Geocentric Model
All the planets, except for earth, orbited the sun. Although, Brahe believed that the sun still orbited the earth.
Kepler Heliocentric Model
Orbit shapes were ellipses. The planets are sometimes nearer the sun than other times. The planets move quicker when they are near the sun.