THE UNIVERSE

AND
SOLAR SYSTEM
Objectives:
• describe the historical development of theories
that explains the origin of the Universe;

• Describe the different theories that explains the

origin of the Solar System;
CLASSICAL
ASTRONOMY
Greek Astronomy
• Plato (360 B.C.)
• Established a philosophy based on the
teachings of Pythagoras that favored
mental reasoning power over
observational science
• Taught that what is seen in the natural
world is an imperfect representation of
ideal creation
• Teachings dominated much of
Western philosophy and science for
about 2,000 years
Plato
• Models based on the philosophy of Plato were generally
wrong because they were based on wrong “first
principles”, believed to be “obvious” and not questioned:

• Geocentric Universe: Earth at the Center of the Universe and

stationary.
• “Perfect Heavens”: Motions of all celestial bodies described by
motions involving objects of “perfect” shape, i.e., spheres or
circles.
Aristotle (384 – 322 BC)
• Earth is spherical at center of
universe.
• “Edge” of universe is a literal
celestial sphere holding the fixed
stars. Sphere rotates around
earth.
• Everything in heavens moved in
uniform circular motion
• Earth is a very “small” world
Aristotle’s Universe

Sun, Moon and five

known planets
attached to 7
spherical “heavens”
Aristotle (384 – 322
BC)
Parallax
• Aristotle could not
measure stellar parallax.
• He concluded the earth
must not be moving.
• Distances to stars are too
great to measure parallax.
Aristarchus (310 BC – 230 BC)
• Measured relative
distances/sizes of sun and
moon:
• Moon is about 1/3rd the size of
Earth.
• Sun 20 times farther than moon
and 7 times larger than Earth.
• Since sun is larger, reasons it
must be at the center of universe.
• First known heliocentric
cosmology.
Some Incredible Insights
• Aristarchus Develops Heliocentric Idea:
• Moon shines because it reflects light from the sun.
• Stars show no parallax:
• Must be extremely far away
• If viewed close up, must be as large and bright as the sun
• Must be “distant suns”
• Universe must therefore be MUCH bigger than indicated by
Aristotle’s geocentric model.
Aristotle Hijacks Science
• Aristarchus’ hypothesis fails in the face of Aristotle’s
philosophy.
• Why no perception of motion:
• Earth rotates? Why don’t dropped objects fly off to the west?
• Earth circles the sun? Why don’t we fly off its surface?
• Ironically: Why no parallax?
• Geocentric model wins the day!
The Renaissance
• Nicholas Copernicus (1473
– 1543)
• Influenced by ideas of
Aristarchus.
• Sun near center of universe.
Planets orbit sun, including
Earth.
• Naturally explains retrograde
motion.
Copernican Revolution
• Copernicus was born to a merchant family in Poland
and during his time, the philosophy of earth as the
center of the universe was widely accepted

• 1514, he propose the model of heliocentric universe by

explaining the daily and annual cycle of the sky and that
the Earth rotates on its axis and revolves around the
sun
The Copernican hypothesis solved the problem of the
place of earth but didn’t explain planetary motion.
Copernicus’ new explanation for retrograde motion of
the planets

Retrograde
(westward)
motion of a
planet occurs
when the
Earth passes
the planet.
Tycho Brahe
• was not a churchman like
Copernicus but rather a nobleman
from an important family, educated
at the finest university.

• he concluded that Earth had to be

stationary because he could not
measure parallax
ACTIVITY 1
The Dark Ages
• Fall of Rome, Rise of Christianity
• Scriptural Basis for Geocentric Cosmology
• Slight philosophical alterations to Ptolemy’s model
• Earth is center of universe – “crown jewel” of God’s creation.
Problems With Copernicus
• Assumes circular motion:
• Needs epicycles to match observed motion as well as geocentric model.
• Makes predictions that cannot be verified with technology of the time
(e.g. phases of Venus).
• Why no stellar parallax (Brahe)?
• “Philosophical” argument for next 50 years.
Tycho Brahe (1546-1601)
• Was the last and greatest of the
naked eye observational
astronomers
• Built an observatory with large
sighting devices to make accurate
records of planet and star
positions for over 20 years
• Observed and reported on the
supernova of 1572, and he
observed and estimated the
distance to a comet in 1577
• Both observations helped to
discredit the Aristotelian view of
the Cosmos.
 Parallax Shift

 Did not accept the Copernican (heliocentric)

model, because he could not measure an annual
parallax shift in the positions of the stars.
Tycho’s Model
• Proposed his own
modified geocentric
model of the
Cosmos that was
mathematically
nearly identical to
the Copernican
model.