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History of the Solar System
Transcript of History of the Solar System
Heliocentric Theory in
his book: "On the Revolution
of Celestial Spheres"
He adapted physics to the demands of astronomy, first person to create a complete and general system that combined math, cosmology and physics
Based math off of Ptolemy's observations of the universe
History of our Understanding of the Solar System
Born: 390 BC in present-day Turkey. Died: 310 BC.
He was thought to be the first to propose the heliocentric theory, or the idea that the sun was the center of the Solar System. His writing, however, was misinterpreted. He actually believed the Earth was the center of the Solar System, and that it turned on its axis once every 24 hours.
Born: 310 BC. Died: 230 BC.
A Greek astronomer who believed the Earth revolved around the sun and rotated on an axis. He produced the first known heliocentric model.
Born: 90 AD in Alexandria, Egypt. Died: 168 AD.
Astronomer, mathematician, and geographer. Ptolemy believed in the geocentric theory, the idea that the Earth was the center of the Solar System. He wrote a collection of 13 books titled
. These books presented mathematical theories of the motions of the planets.
wasn't challenged until Copernicus's presentation of the heliocentric theory in his book
Discovered the four largest satellites of Jupiter (later named the Galilean moons in his honor).
Observed and analyzed sunspots.
sunspots: dark cool patches on the sun that occur in approximately 11-year cycles and possess a strong magnetic field.
Devised the most precise instruments available before the invention of the telescope for observing the heavens.
Brahe compiled extensive data on the planet Mars
Believed in a geocentric universe.
Widely regarded as one of the most influential scientists of all time
Copernicus' theory solved some problems
from previous theories:
- why Mercury and Venus are only observed close to the sun
- why Mars appears to change direction and move back and forth relative to fixed stars
Could not explain:
variations in the brightness of Venus
1642 - 1727
Brought the laws of physics to our understanding of the solar system
Isaac Newton explained why the planets move the way they do by applying his laws of motion and the force of gravitation between any two bodies
-The gravitational force decreases with the square of the distance between the two bodies:
= gravitational force
= formula constant
= mass of first body
= mass of second body
= distance between the two bodies
Hipparchus was a Greek astronomer and mathematician who was known as the greatest astronomer of ancient times. He made the first known model of the geocentric theory.
Born: 190 BC. Died: 120 BC.
Kepler proposed 3 laws of planetary motion. He summarized the data of his mentor Tycho Brae. These laws are no longer accepted, but the ideas behind them are.
The path of the planets about the sun is elliptical in shape, with the center of the sun being located at one focus. (The Law of Ellipses)
An imaginary line drawn from the center of the sun to the center of the planet will sweep out equal areas in equal intervals of time. (The Law of Equal Areas)
The ratio of the squares of the periods of any two planets is equal to the ratio of the cubes of their average distances from the sun. (The Law of Harmonies)
KEPLER'S 3 LAWS:
In addition to this concept of gravitational force, Newton invented:
a new kind of math that could be used to calculate planetary motions, which we now refer to as Calculus.
the first reflecting telescope with which to survey the sky.
"Age and Origin of the Solar System." Age and Origin of the Solar System. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. <http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/virtualmuseum/ita/05_1.shtml>.
"Claudius Ptolemy." Ptolemy Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. <http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Ptolemy.html>.
"Edmond Halley Biography: Facts, Discoveries and Quotes." Space.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. <http://www.space.com/24682-edmond-halley-biography.html>.
"Galileo: The Telescope & The Laws of Dynamics." Galileo: The Telescope & The Laws of Dynamics. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. <http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/history/galileo.html>.
"Heraclides of Pontus." Heraclides Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. <http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Heraclides.html>.
"Kepler's Three Laws." Kepler's Three Laws. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014.
"Names of Ancient Greek Astronomers." Names of Ancient Greek Astronomers. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. <http://www.greek-names.info/names-of-ancient-greek-astronomers/>.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Aristarchus of Samos (Greek Astronomer)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/34377/Aristarchus-of-Samos>.
"TychoBrahe." TychoBrahe. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. <http://www.tychobrahe.com/UK/astronomen.html>
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. <http://www.wikipedia.org/>.
"The father of modern observational astronomy"
Galilei's most important discovery...
Using the telescope he built (based on Dutch spectacle makers' blueprints), Galilei found that Venus has phases like the moon.
This confirmed Copernicus' theory of the heliocentric system... BUT, the Church disagreed.
Galileo had to recant and was forbidden to teach and to leave his home.
Copernicus' "On the Revolution of Celestial Spheres" was left in the index of forbidden works from 1616 until 1835.
400 BC - 1700 AD
Best known for computing the orbit of what would later be named Halley's comet.
1705: Halley published "A Synopsis of the Astronomy of Comets"
Showed that comet sightings of 1456, 1531, 1607 and 1682 were so similar that they must have been the same comet returning. He predicted that it would return in 1758.
He did not survive to see the return of what would later be named Halley's Comet, on Christmas Day, 1758.
comet: An interplanetary body of loosely bound rocky and icy material that forms a glowing head (coma) and extended tail when it enters the inner solar system.
He made the most precise observations that had yet been made by devising the best instruments available before the invention of the telescope.
His observations of planetary motion, particularly that of Mars, provided the crucial data for later astronomers to construct our present model of the solar system.
He made observations of a supernova in 1572
Brahe made careful observations of a comet in 1577.
He made the best measurements that had yet been made in the search for stellar parallax.
Brahe did not believe that the stars could possibly be so far away and so concluded that the Earth was the center of the Universe and that Copernicus was wrong.
Proposed a model of the Solar System that was intermediate between the Ptolemaic and Copernican models (it had the Earth at the center).