Models of Universe

Throughout history we have looked at the

stars and wondered about the universe
Scientific theories cha
nge when scientists di
scover new informatio
n.
Observational evidence caus
ed the model of the solar syst
em to be changed from one i
n which the sun and planets
orbit the Earth to one in whic
h the Earth and planets orbit t
he sun.
GEOCENTRIC UNIVERSE
Prior to the 1500's it was
believed that the earth w
as the center of the plane
ts. This was known as t
he geocentric model.
 Aristotle’s and Ptolemy’s
Universe
 The Geocentric Theory is credited to the Greek astronomers Arist
otle and Ptolemy.
ARISTOTLE

 Established a geocentric univers

e in which the fixed, spherical ea
rth is at the center and surround
ed by concentric celestial sphere
s of planets and stars.
 Aristotle’s Model
 Aristotle (born c. 384 B.C.), a Greek philosopher and
astronomer, considered the model proposed by Eudo
xus, but he considered these spheres as physical enti
ties. He thought that these spheres were filled with th
e divine and eternal “ether” that caused the spheres t
o move. He introduced the Prime Mover, as the caus
e of the movement of the spheres. His model compos
ed of 56 spheres that guided the motion of the Sun, t
he Moon, and five known planets. As the spheres mo
ve, they maintained the same distance from the Earth
. Also, they moved at constant speeds.
PTOLEMY

 He has the same idea with Aristo

tle but his ideas were more comp
lex
 Planets moved on a small circle t
hat in turns moved on a larger cir
cle
Ptolemy’s Model
 The Sun, Moon, stars, and planets were
believed to move in a uniform circular mo
tion – the “perfect” motion assigned to cel
estial bodies by the ancient Greeks. How
ever, observations showed otherwise. Th
e paths of the celestial bodies are not circ
ular, and they vary in distances. Babyloni
ans even showed that some planets exhi
bit a retrograde motion – a motion opposi
te to that of other planets.
Ptolemy’s Model
 To explain “imperfect motions” of heavenl
y bodies, Claudius Ptolemy (born c. 90
A.D.), a Greco-Egyptian astronomer and
mathematician, proposed his own geoce
ntric (Earth-centered) model of the univer
se. He accounted for the apparent motion
s of the planets around the Earth by assu
ming that each planet moved around a sp
here called an epicycle. The center of th
e epicycle then moved on a larger sphere
called a deferent.
The Ptolemaic System
 Video on retrograde motion
The Ptolemaic System
EUDOXUS

 Created the first model of Geocentric uni

verse around 380 B.C.
 Eudoxus designed his model of the unive
rse as a series of cosmic spheres contain
ing the stars, the sun, the moon all built a
round the Earth at its center.
 Eudoxus’ Model
 Eudoxus of Cnidus (born c. 395 – 390 B.C.), a Gre
ek astronomer and mathematician, was the first to
propose a model of the universe based on geometr
y. His model composed of 27 concentric spheres
with Earth as the center. The Sun, the Moon, the pl
anets, and the fixed stars have spheres. Each sphe
re is attached to a larger sphere through a pole. Th
e rotation of the spheres on their poles once every
24 hours accounts for the daily rotation of the heav
ens. It is unclear whether Eudoxus regarded these
spheres as physical entities or just mathematical co
nstructions.
 Geocentric ideas
 The Earth is still, motionless, and at the center of the Univer
se
 Celestial bodies move in perfect circles at uniform speeds
 Stars were set in a rotating sphere that turned E to W once
a day
 Planets, moon, sun also set in separate spheres that move
d slower
HELIOCENTRIC UNIVERSE
 The Copernican Model:
A Sun-Centered Solar System
NICOLAS COPERNICUS

 Copernican Model
 A Sun-centered-Solar System.
 His hypothesis is all planets revolve arou
nd the sun.
Sun Centered
 The distinction between the Solar System a
nd the Universe was not clear until modern ti
mes
 Polish priest –
astronomer Nicolaus
Copernicus (1473 –
1543) eventually
decided
to reject the
geocentric model
Copernicus' Model
 In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus, a R
enaissance mathematician and ast
ronomer born in Poland, ended the
geocentric astronomy era by publi
shing his work On the Revolutions
of the Heavenly Spheres wherein
he explained that the Sun, not the
Earth, is the center of the universe
.
Copernicus' Model
 In his work, he reiterated the ancient Greek
concept that the motion of spherical heaven
ly bodies is uniform, eternal, and circular. H
e then reasoned that because Earth is sphe
rical, then its motion is circular. He added t
hat the Earth has three different motions: d
aily rotation on its axis, yearly motion aroun
d the Sun, and the precession, or change in
orientation, of its axis every 26 000 years.
Copernicus' Model
 He also proposed that the fixed sta
rs are immovable. Their apparent
movement is a consequence of th
e Earth’s rotation. These stars are
at immeasurable distances from th
e Earth, so there is no observable
parallax.
Copernicus' Model
 By placing the Sun at the center of
the universe and the orbits of Merc
ury and Venus in between the Sun
and the Earth, Copernicus’ model
was able to account for the chang
es in the appearances of these pla
nets and their retrograde motions.
The need for epicycles in explainin
g motions was eliminated.
Heliocentric

 Heliocentric – Sun centered universe

Copernicus
ARISTARCHUS
 Sun-centered Solar System had been pro
posed as early as 200 B.C by Aristarchus
of Samos(Samos is an Island now the Tu
rkey)
 Actually proposed that Earth rotated on in
addition to its orbiting around the sun.
 Many of his writings wee unfortunately lo
st. More importantly however, they did no
t survive long under the weight of ARIST
OTLE’s influence.
Aristarchus' Model
 Aristarchus of Samos (born c. 310 B.C.),
a Greek astronomer and mathematician,
was the first to hypothesize that the Sun i
s the center of the universe. He visualize
d that the Moon orbits around a spherical
Earth which then revolves around the Su
n. He believed that the stars are very far
away from the Earth as evidenced by the
absence of stellar parallax – that is, the st
ars do not change positions relative to ea
ch other as the Earth revolves around the
Sun.
Aristarchus' Model
 Through geometrical models and mathe
matical computations, he concluded that t
he Sun is 20 times farther from the Earth
than the Moon is to the Earth; the Earth i
s about three times larger than the Moon;
and the Sun is 20 times larger than the M
oon. He also reasoned out that smaller s
pheres orbit around larger ones. Thus, th
e Moon orbits around the Earth, and the
Earth orbits around the Sun.
 Galileo Galilei
Proves Copernicus’ Hypothesis

 Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was a pivotal figure in the development

of modern astronomy. He proved the Copernican hypothesis.

 He also invented the telescope.

Galileo

 The sun is the center (heliocentric) of our

solar system
 Our solar system is a part of a larger univ
erse
 Using a new invention, the
telescope, Galileo was able
to view parts of our Solar
System in motion
 What could Galileo see?
 New stars (Milky Way made up of stars)
 Mountains and valleys on the moon
 Four moons orbiting Jupiter (now called Galilean
moons)
 Phases of Venus
 Sunspots (rotating around the sun about once a m
onth)
 The rings of Saturn
 Planets are disks, not pinpoints of light like the sta
rs
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
 Johannes Kepler, a German astrono
mer who lived at about the same tim
e as Galileo.
 He showed mathematically that Cop
ernicus' idea of a sun-centered syste
m worked well if uniform circular mot
ion was replaced with uneven (but pr
edictable) motion along off-center elli
pses.
Modern View

 Like any experiment, as we learn more, we cha

nge our hypothesis about the universe
 Geocentric – Ptolemy's model Earth-Centered
Universe
 Heliocentric – Copernicus & Galileo Sun-Cente
red Solar System and larger Universe
 Big Bang Theory – the Universe started from o
ne big explosion
 Modern thought begins to take hold

 Other scientists began to look and explain how

the universe worked
 Isaac Newton (1642-1727) proposed that gra
vity is the main source that holds our sola
r system together.
 The sun's gravitational pull holds the Earth and othe
r planets in their orbits.
 Things on or near the Earth are pulled toward it by t
he Earth's gravity.
 So what have we learned?
Before modern thought, the universe was seen in 2 way
s
1. Geocentric: Ptolemy's Earth-centered Universe
2. Heliocentric: Copernicus’ and Galileo’s Sun Centered Unive
rse
3. Kepler: explained the orbits of planets
4. Newton: explained gravity is the glue that hold the solar system
together
5. 20th century: newer ideas would change the way we thought
about gravity, space, and time
 Eudoxus’, Aristotle’s, and Ptolemy’s models have the Earth as the
center of the universe while Aristarchus’ and Copernicus’ models
have the Sun as the center.
 Eudoxus’ model has 27 concentric spheres for the Sun, Moon, pla
nets, and the stars whose common center is the Earth.
 Aristotle’s model of the universe is composed of 56 spheres guidin
g the motion of Sun, Moon and the five known planets.
 Aristarchus said that smaller celestial bodies must orbit the larger
ones and since the Sun is much larger than the Earth, then the Ea
rth must orbit around the Sun.
 Ptolemaic model introduced the concepts of epicycle, deferent, an
d equant to explain the observed “imperfect” motions of the planet
s.
 Copernicus’ model recognized that the Earth rotates on its axis, re
volves around the Sun, and undergoes precession.