Andrew Schafale

Science Weekly
VOLUME 1
ISSUE 1

JUNE 29,
1627

Earth is NOT the Center of the Universe?

INSIDE
Most people, both living now
T HIS and in past generations, have
always believed Earth to be
ISSUE: the center of the universe.
To the common person, this
makes a lot of sense, as
Interview 2 humans were the high point
of creation, meaning the
with an planets and sun would logi-
cally revolve around the
Astrologer Earth. However, a Polish
scientist from the University
of Cracow, Nicolaus Coper-
nicus, has stated that this
belief is incorrect. After years
The Life 2 of work and studying the sky,
Copernicus has developed a
of Johannes new theory of how the uni-
verse really works called the
Kepler Heliocentric system. The
Heliocentric system states
that the sun, not the Earth, is
what the planets revolve
Obituary to 3
Andreas
Vesalius
Opinion-Based Editorial on the Discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton is one of
the most popular scientists
of today, as his work and
Works 3 research are very well
known. Newton has made
Cited various discoveries and ad-
vancements in the world of
physics, but perhaps his
most famous are his three
laws of motion: “an object
will remain in a state of iner-
tia unless acted upon by
force,” “the relationship
between acceleration and
applied force is F=ma,” and
around. While it has been hard
for many to understand, the
science behind his explanation
appears to back up his claim.
Nicolaus Copernicus
Other scientists have said that
his model could not be com-
pletely accurate, but that he is
definitely on to something and
further research needs to be
done. In addition to explaining
“for every action there is an
equal and opposite reaction.”
Though they are debated by
some, his laws make perfect
sense and explain why things
move the way they do per-
fectly. For example, New-
ton’s first law states that an
object in motion will stay in
motion unless acted upon,
and the same with an object
at rest. Some would argue
that this is false because if
that the Earth revolves around
the sun, and not the other way
around, Copernicus’s theory
explains that the sun appearing
to rise and set. He says that the
Earth is rotating on it’s axis in
addition to orbiting, giving us the
illusion that the sun is spinning
when in fact it is our own planet.
It does not end there, however,
as his theory also gives an expla-
nation for why planets seem to
go different directions across the
sky depending on when they are
being observed. This only hap-
pens because the Earth is moving
with the planets. Copernicus’s
theory has caused a great
amount of controversy, but if we
can all accept that it may be true,
this could be the key to discover-
ing the craziest secrets of the
universe.
you were to roll an object, it
would not continue rolling.
However, this proves the law
to be correct, because the
force of friction acts on the
object, causing it to stop.
Newton’s ideas sound crazy
at first, but when you take a
closer look, you will surely
see that his theories are the
latest major discovery that
will change the world of sci-
ence forever.
 PAGE 2
Interview with an Astrologer: Galileo Galilei
Question: When did you first
start your experiments?
Answer: I started studying
medicine at University of Pisa
when I was around 17, but
while I was there I began ex-
perimenting. After I made a
breakthrough discovery about
how pendulums move, I con-
tinued to do research and
experiment while I was the
chair of mathematics at the
University.
Galileo Galilei hold- Q: When did you begin study-
ing his new telescope ing astrology?
design A: When I was in my 40s, I
made improvements to a tele-
scope designed by the Dutch.
I would use this telescope to
look at the sky every night, and
it seemed as if I found some-
thing new every week. Some
of my more famous early dis-
coveries were four moons that
orbit Jupiter, though at the
The Life of Johannes Kepler
Johannes Kepler was born in
December of 1571. When the
time came for him to go
to school, he was given a
scholarship to go to the
University of Tübingen. It
was here the Kepler dis-
Johannes
covered the planetary
Kepler
system of Nicolaus Co-
pernicus, which taught
that planets all orbited
the sun. In 1596, Kepler
publicly wrote his
thoughts about why the
Copernicus’s system was
right. Kepler set out to
prove to those who re-
fused to believe that the Co-
pernicus’s system was correct.
He got into contact with a
SCIENCE WEEKLY
time I believed they were
stars.
Q: So from your research, do
you believe that Heliocentric
system could be correct?
A: No, I do not think it is cor-
rect, I KNOW it is correct. If
you watch the stars and plan-
ets the way I have, you would
see the Aristotelian Doctrine
could not possibly be right.
The research done by Coper-
nicus is perfectly logical and
the research I have done backs
that up. I have noticed a few
minor issues that could be
incorrect if more research is
done, but without a doubt the
concept is correct and I have
the research to prove it!
Q: How did people react to
your theory and research?
A: No one wanted to hear
what I had to say. People
wealthy Danish astrologer
named Tycho Brahe to help
him in his research. In re-
sponse, Brahe invited Kepler
to come to the observatory he
had built so they could re-
search together. However,
Brahe did not completely trust
Kepler, sending him on a mis-
sion to solve the mystery of
why Mars seemed to orbit
backwards, instead of sharing
the notes he had already col-
lected. But Kepler was smart
enough to get around this
obstacle, using the information
he could gather on Mars as
further evidence of the Coper-
nican system being correct.
He would be able to make his
called me a liar and disregard-
ed what I said. The Catholic
church put me on trial. They
said I was a heretic and placed
me under house arrest. I’m
still serving this completely
unfair sentence as we speak.
Q: What would you say is
your greatest achievement, the
one you most want to be re-
membered for?
A: I do not know, there is so
much I want people to know
that no one today listens to. I
suppose I would like to be
remembered for my studies of
space. I discovered four
moons of Jupiter, the phases of
Venus, the craters of the
moon, and a more modern
design for the telescope. I
suppose you could say that I
revolutionized the world of
astrology. I just hope people
listen to the things I have said.
case stronger when Brahe died
in 1601 and Kepler managed to
get a hold of the elusive re-
search Brahe had been hiding
from him. Kepler continued
his research of the sky until his
death on November 15, 1630.
Kepler played a large role in
proving to people that the
Copernican system was cor-
rect, as well as making many
discoveries of his own. He
discovered that planets orbited
in ellipses, not circles, which
explained some of the prob-
lems created by the Coperni-
can system, most notably, the
mystery of Mars’s supposed
backwards orbit.
Rest in Peace Andreas Vesalius, a Hero in the World of Science
Today is a sad day in the world of
science, as it was recently made
known to the public that one of the
greatest scientists of our time, Andre-
as Vesalius, has recently passed away.
Vesalius was born in Brussels, Bel-
gium, in December of 1514. He was
raised in a Catholic household full of
physicians, making his decision to
pursue the path of medical science an
easy one. He went to school at the
Catholic University of Leuven, then
later went to the University of Paris,
to study medicine and anatomy. He
later returned to the University of
Leuven for one additional year. After
so many years of schooling, he finally
earned his doctor of medicine degree
at the University of Padua. Vesalius
stayed at the University of Padua as a
lecture, speaking to medical students
and giving demonstrations. He began
to preform dissections and surgeries
on his own, following along to the
work of the Greek physician Galen.
However, he eventually went against
Galen and created his own method
for surgery. Vesalius realized that the
way of Galen was flawed because it
was based off of animal dissection.
Galen had studied the bodies of ani-
mas and assumed humans would be
the same. Vesalius, however, studied
the human body itself and created
specialized techniques based on his Andreas Vesalius
findings. He would soon publish all of
his findings in a book, The Fabrica, to
show doctors around the world what on the Greek island Zacynthus. He
he had found. He presented his book would die soon after. The work of
to Holy Roman Emperor Chares V, Vesalius will be a foundation for many
who was impressed, leading to Vesali- medical advancements to come, and
us gaining fame around Europe. Many will likely save thousands of lives.
years later, Vesalius became sick on a
ship bringing him home from a pil-
grimage, and, for the safety of the
other passengers, he was dropped off

Works Cited

Biography.com Editors. “Galileo.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 1 Aug.

2017.
Florkin, Marcel. “Andreas Vesalius.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia
Britannca, Inc., 24 Feb. 2017
History.com Staff. “Galileo Galilei.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010.
Live Science Staff. “Isaac Newton Biography.” LiveScience, Purch, 24 Mar. 2016.
Redd, Nola Taylor. “Johannes Kepler Biography.” Space.com, 21 May 2012.
Redd, Nola Taylor. “Nicolaus Copernicus Biography: Facts and Discoveries.”
Space.com, 19 Feb. 2013.