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The idea is simply explained by looking at the Earth and Mars orbiting the Sun, as we now know they do, and assume circular orbits for simplicity. The Earth's orbit has a radius of 1.000 and it goes round in 365.25 days, while Mars's orbit has a radius of 1.524 and it goes round in 687 days.
Now suppose some outside force has decreed that the Earth stays still. How is the movement of Mars explained now? well, all you have to do is put Mars on an epicycle so that the centre of the epicycle has the same circle with radius 1.524, going round in 687 days, but in addition to this the epicycle has a radius of 1.000 and Mars goes round that (as well) in 365.25 days.
In this way the Ptolemaic system explains all the observed behaviour of the Mars while allowing the Earth to remain fixed at the centre. Extra epicycles were added to allow for eccentricity and inclination of the orbits.
Don't forget there was no dynamical theory underlying the Ptolemaic and Copernican theories: they only aimed to reproduce the observed movements of the planets among the fixed stars.
Of course Copernicus had a different starting-point from us, he started with the Earth at the centre, but he must have been impressed about the gain in simplicity achieved by placing the Sun at the centre instead of the Earth.
Wiki User
∙ 8y ago
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoCopernicus figured out that the sun is the center of our solar system.
------------actually he just improved upon the idea of a heliocentric universe. Aristarchus and a lot of other people had came up with the idea first. he just used math physics and cosmology together to produce a better model of a heliocentric universe :)
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoIn the 16th century he put forward the theory that the Sun is fixed at the centre of the solar system, based on the idea that it would make the movements of the planets simpler to explain.
It was not until the 18th century that it was discovered that the Sun is 330,000 times more massive than the Earth, and after that it was generally accepted as the truth that the Sun is at the centre.
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoCopernicus thought that the sun was in the center of the universe and everything revolved around it.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoI believe he saw the SOLAR SYSTEM as geo-centric, which means that the other planets and the sun revolve around the Earth. That all the info that i know about copernicus and space. sorry.
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How do you spell Copernicus?
The correct spelling is, indeed, Copernicus.
Where is Nicolaus Copernicus hometown?
nicolaus copernicus hometown
Where was homeland of Nicolas Copernicus?
Nicolas Copernicus' homeland is Poland
How was Nicolas Copernicus a scholar?
Copernicus was a polymath who studied at Krakow Academy
When did nicolaus Copernicus' father die?
nicolaus copernicus' father died when he himself was at the age of 10..when nicolaus Copernicus was 10 years old
What did nicholas Copernicus discover in space?
what did do in space
What did Nicolaus Copernicus doscover about Space?
he invented the globe
Is Copernicus the first space telescope?
no it is the Galileo one
What scientists work did Copernicus contradict?
He contradicted space and mathematics including a economist xx
What did Copernicus discover in space?
pisti ka yawa animal!! you have been trolled! xD
Is it true that Copernicus invented many of the laws that are used to study space?
Copernicus' model of the universe that puts the Sun at the center of the solar system was a major and important contribution to astronomy. Whether his laws are important to the study of space today is problematic
Why do Copernicus preferred to work alone?
I think that Copernicus preferred to work alone because what he thought went against common religious beliefs.
Why did people attack Copernicus' idea?
Because they did not think his work was true
Who are the two scientist who argued about the movement of the sun and the moon?
I think Copernicus was one of them
What caused the Copernicus crater?
We think that all the craters were formed by meteor strikes.
Who changed the ideas that people had about space?
A lot of people, Copernicus, Galileo, Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Hubble etc.
What did Nicolaus Copernicus think your solar system was?
Copernicus concluded our solar system had our Sun at the center and our Earth went around our Sun. He probably thought the same about your solar system.
