Models of the Universe

The Early Universe

 Humans have come up with several
models in order to understand the
universe
 They rely on their senses for a picture of
the universe with much philosophical and
religious symbolism
 Around 600 BCE, Thales of Miletus
proposed that the earth is a disk floating
on water
 In 520 BCE, Anaximander, also from
Miletus, suggested that the earth is a
cylinder and that it’s surfaced was curved
 As civilization flourished, several models
were proposed, these can be categorized
into two: GEOCENTRIC AND
HELIOCENTRIC
 Geocentric Theory
 A Geocentric theory is an
astronomical theory which describes the
universe as a Geocentric system, i.e., a
system which puts the Earth in the center
of the universe, and describes other
objects from the point of view of the Earth.
 Pythagoreans (500 B.C.)
 Believed the stars, planets, sun,
and moon were attached to
crystalline spheres which rotated
around the Earth.
 Geocentric- everything moved
around the Earth.
 Considered that the motions of
the planets are mathematically-
 Related to musical sounds and numbers
 These idea were called the “The Music of
the Spheres”
Pythagorean Model
 Plato
 He also adopted the Pythagorean view of
the universe
 Also assumes that all motions in the
universe are perfectly circular and all
heavenly bodies are ethereal or perfect
 Aristotle (350 B.C.)
 Believed the Earth is motionless
at the center of the universe and
all the stars and planets revolved
around it.
 Stars and planets moved in
circular paths.
 Geocentric
 Accepted the notion of 27 buffering
spheres between the spheres of Eudoxes
and an outermost sphere that was the
domain of what he called the Prime Mover
 This Prime mover is the one responsible
for the rotation of the planets
 The Roman Catholic church adopted this
idea in Medieval times: The Prime mover
was considered God, and the sphere of
the firmament as Heaven
 Divided the universe between two realms
 Celestial realm – Unchanging and
perpetual, composed of the fifth element
aether or ether
 Terrestrial realm – ephemereal and
undergoing decay, composed of four
primordial elements: earth, air, fire and
water
 Eudoxes of Cnidus
 (born c. 395–390 BCE, Cnidus, Asia Minor [now in
Turkey]—died c. 342–337 BCE, Cnidus), Greek
mathematician and astronomer who substantially
advanced proportion theory, contributed to the
identification of constellations and thus to the
development of observational astronomy in the Greek
world, and established the first
sophisticated, geometrical model of celestial motion. He
also wrote on geography and contributed to
philosophical discussions in Plato’s Academy. Although
none of his writings survive, his contributions are known
from many discussions throughout antiquity
 Eudoxes
 Proposed the 27 concentric spheres on
which the sun, moon and planets moved in
perfect circular motion
 The breakdown of the spheres;
 One sphere for fixed stars
 Three spheres for the sun
 Three spheres for the moon
 Four spheres for each of the known
planets at the time
 Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter
 He did not assigned a sphere for Earth
because in his notion the planet is fixed
Eudoxus’ Model
 Ptolemy (140 A.D.)
 Expanded Aristotle’s theories to try to
account for “retrograde motion” of the
planets
 Planets traveled in smaller circular paths
as they traveled around the Earth
(epicycles and deferents) Geocentric
 Popular model of the universe for 1,500
years.
Ptolemaic Model
 The Heliocentric Theory
 Heliocentric theory is a model of the
solar system that posits a central place for
the Sun, with the planets orbiting it. It is
most closely associated with the 16th-
century work of Copernicus and the 17th-
century work of Galileo, and
the theory was widely adopted after
Copernicus' death. Copernicus’s model is
known as the most influential of modern
astronomy
 Copernicus (1543)
 Sun at the center of universe and the
planets orbit the sun. Heliocentric.
 Solved the problem of “retrograde motion”

 Theory did not immediately replace

Ptolemy’s theory.
 Tycho Brahe (1600)
 Favored an Earth-centered universe
different from Ptolemy’s theory.
 Thought that other planets revolved
around the Sun, and that the sun and
moon revolved around Earth.
 His theory was incorrect, but made many
precise observations of planets and stars.
 Geocentric
 Johannes Kepler (1609)
 Mathematician
 Tycho’s assistant
 Used Tycho’s observational data to
develop laws of planetary motion.
 Kepler’s 3 Laws of Planetary Motion
 Law of Ellipses
 Law of Equal Areas
 Law of Periods
 Galileo Galilei (1609)
 First person to use telescope for
astronomical observations
 Discoveries:
 Galilean Satellites (Jupiter’s moons)
 Craters on the moon
 Sunspots on the Sun
 Phases of Venus
 Favored Copernicus’s theory over Ptolemy’s
 Isaac Newton
 1687
 Explained why planets orbit the Sun, and
why moons orbit planets.
 Newton’s Law of Motion
 Newton’s Law of Gravitation
 Completed the work of Copernicus, Tycho,
Kepler, and Galileo
Geocentric Model
The Heliocentric Model
 Thank you for comprehending
 John Patrick O. Nojadera
 Irish Anne Cantero
 Alaiza Canta

“Because there is a law such as GRAVITY

the UNIVERSE can and will create itself out
of NOTHING”
- STEPHEN HAWKING