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How did Copernicus disprove ptolemys theory about the universe?
Shortly before Copernicus died he figured that the Earth was notthecenter of things, but the Sun was. This theory is still used today. He worked out this this theory from detailed observations of the orbit of Mars.
Contary to ptolemy what did Copernicus argue concerning the construction of the universe?
Copernicus came up with a new theory of the planets' movements among the stars in 1543. It had the Sun at the centre instead of the Earth, which was in the centre in the ancient Ptolemaic theory. Both theories used circles and epicycles to describe the planet's orbits, which they modelled quite accurately. Copernicus's theory was promoted by Galileo. The modern theory retains Copernicus's idea of placing the Sun at the centre, but it uses elliptical orbits for the planets and was devised by Kepler (1609) working with the latest observations by Tycho Brahe.
What is the similarity between the Ptolemy and Copernicus models of the solar system?
The similarity is that both theories used a system of circles and epicycles to explain how the planets move around. Copernicus's theory (1543) used a similar number of epicycles, but many of them were smaller so that the paths followed by the planets were geometrically simpler. The difference was that Copernicus placed the Sun at the centre rather than the Earth as the ancient theory had done. Another theory was later produced by Kepler (1609), which used Copernicus's idea of having the Sun at the centre, but Kepler used elliptical orbits for the planets. This new model fitted observational measurements better, but it was not until many years later after the discovery of the law of gravity and the laws of motion (1687) that it was possible to pick out Kepler's theory as the correct one that is still in use today.
How was Copernicus' model of the universe different from Ptolemy's model?
The main difference was that Ptolemy's model was geocentric (Earth-centred) and Copernicus's was heliocentric (Sun-centred). Ptolemy's model came from ancient times while Copernicus's was much later (1543). Both models represented the planets' orbits by using combinations of circles and epicycles to explain the way the planets move among the stars. Copernicus found that the orbits of the inner planets could be explained more simply. That is to say that the epicycles used for all the orbits were smaller, and for the inner planets a lot smaller. Both models represented the planets' positions with reasonable accuracy given the crude observational methods used in those days. Until gravity and the laws of dynamics were discovered about 150 years after the publication of Copernicus's system, there was no way of deciding which model was the 'right' one.
What was the the model solar system that was thought to be correct before Copernicus?
It was Ptolemy's model. Ptolemy's model came from ancient times while Copernicus's was much later (1543).Both models represented the planets' orbits by using combinations of circles and epicycles to explain the way the planets move among the stars.Copernicus found that the orbits of the inner planets could be explained more simply. That is to say that the epicycles used for all the orbits were smaller, and for the inner planets a lot smaller.Both models represented the planets' positions with reasonable accuracy given the crude observational methods used in those days.Until gravity and the laws of dynamics were discovered about 150 years after the publication of Copernicus's system, there was no way of deciding which model was the 'right' one.
