The Origin of Modern

Astronomy
 It should be. When I
Is Earth the look at the sky,
center of the everything seems to
universe? revolve around it.
 Ancient Astronomy

• Ancient Greeks
– Used philosophical
arguments to explain
natural phenomena
– Also used some
observational data

Most ancient Greeks

held a geocentric
(Earth-centered) view
of the universe.
 Ancient Astronomy
• Seven heavenly bodies (planetai)
– Changes position in sky
– Seven wanderers
• Sun
• Moon
• Mercury
• Venus
• Mars
• Jupiter
• Saturn
 ARISTOTLE ( 384-322BC)

Geocentric Hypothesis:
• Earth as center
• Earth and heaven is a
sphere because sphere is
the natural shape in nature.
 His argument
1. earth is stationary – no sensation of motion
2. parallax
3. gods would only create perfection (sphere
is perfect)
Eratosthenes ( 276-194 BC)
First to establish the size of
the Earth
• Earth’s circumference
(according to
Eratosthenes): ~39,600 km
• Modern value: 40,075km
ARISTARCHUS (312 – 230BC)
• First person to present a
Heliocentric model (sun
as the center).

• First to calculate the

geometric distance of the
Earth to the sun and the
moon.
Aristarchus’ Idea
Was severely criticized because:
1. contradicts philosophical doctrine, common
sense and everyday observation.
2. no parallax shift (was not measured until 1838,
cannot be measured by naked eyes).
His system did not predict planetary positions.
Retrograde Motion of Mars
Because of the strong influence of Aristotle’s
writings, Earth centered view dominated
Western thoughts for ~1500 years.
Claudius Ptolemy
Geocentric Model
(Ptolemaic Model)

“Earth is the orbital

center of all heavenly
bodies”
Ptolemaic Model
Nicolaus Copernicus
Heliocentric Model
(Copernican Model)

“Sun is the orbital

center of the solar
system.”
Copernican Model
Haha. You are not
the center of Huhuhu.. 
everything!!
Tycho Brahe

Tycho Brahe had an

island observatory and
the best measurements
of the positions for all
known planets (Mercury,
Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and
Saturn) and the Moon.
 Johannes Kepler

• Austrian Mathematician

• He develop the “Three

Laws of Planetary
Motion”
At that time, many astronomers believed
that planets orbited around the sun in
perfect circles, but Tycho’s accurate
measurements for Mars didn’t fit a circle.

Instead, the mathematician Johannes

Kepler found that the orbit of Mars fit an
ellipse the best…
 What is an ellipse?
An ellipse is a
geometric shape with
2 foci 2 foci instead of 1
central focus, as in a
circle. The sun is at
one focus with
nothing at the other
focus.
FIRST LAW OF PLANETARY MOTION
“Law of Ellipses”
 An ellipse also has…

…a major axis …and a minor axis

Perihelion Aphelion

Semi-major axis
Perihelion: When Mars or any another planet
is closest to the sun.
Aphelion: When Mars or any other planet is
farthest from the sun.
Mars changed speed as it orbited around
the sun: faster when closer to the sun,
slower when farther from the sun…

Areas A and B,
swept out by a line
from the sun to
Mars, were equal
over the same
amount of time.

SECOND LAW OF PLANETARY

MOTION
 2 3
T1
T1 R1
= R1
T2 2 R2 3

T = time it takes a
planet to revolve T2
around the sun
R = average distance R2
from the sun (R, semi-
major axis)

THIRD LAW OF PLANETARY MOTION

 T2 The average distance from
the Earth to the sun (R) is
called 1 astronomical unit
R2 (AU).

Kepler’s Third Law, then, changes to

T1 2 R1 3 T1 2 R1 3
= or = or T12 = R13
T2 2 R2 3 1 1

“Law of Periods”
 When we compare the orbits of the planets

Planet T(yrs) R(au) T2 R3

Venus 0.62 0.72 0.38 0.37
Earth 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Mars 1.88 1.52 3.53 3.51
Jupiter 11.86 5.20 141 141

We find that T2 and R3 are essentially equal.

 Kepler’s Laws apply to any celestial
body orbiting any other celestial body.

• Any planet around a sun

• The moon around the Earth
• Any satellite around the Earth
• The international space station
• Any rings around any planet
If it wasn’t for Mars and its complicated
travels across the night sky, Johannes
Kepler may not have derived his Laws of
Planetary Motion.

THE RED PLANET MARS IS FOREVER

LINKED TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF
THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
 Galileo Galilei
Supported Copernican theory

Constructed an astronomical
telescope in 1609
• Four large moons of Jupiter
• Planets appeared as disks
• Phases of Venus
• Features of the Moon
• Sunspots