The Models of the Universe:

Eudoxus, Aristotle, Aristarchus,

Ptolemy, and Copernicus
What are the models of the
universe proposed by
different philosophers?
 Eudoxus’ Model
 Eudoxus of Cnidus (born c. 395 – 390 B.C.), a
Greek astronomer and mathematician, was the
first to propose a model of the universe based on
geometry. His model composed of 27 concentric
spheres with Earth as the center. The Sun, the
Moon, the planets, and the fixed stars have
spheres. Each sphere is attached to a larger sphere
through a pole. The rotation of the spheres on their
poles once every 24 hours accounts for the daily
rotation of the heavens. It is unclear whether
Eudoxus regarded these spheres as physical
entities or just mathematical constructions.
 Eudoxos was the first to “save the appearances”
using a series of 27 concentric spheres on which
the sun, the moon, and the planets moved in
perfect circular motion. The breakdown of the 27
spheres is as follows: one sphere for fixed stars,
three planets for the sun, three spheres for the
moon, and four spheres for each of five known
planets at the time which were Jupiter, Saturn,
Mars, Venus, and Mercury.
 Aristotle’s Model
 Aristotle (born c. 384 B.C.), a Greek philosopher and
astronomer, considered the model proposed by
Eudoxus, but he considered these spheres as physical
entities. He thought that these spheres were filled
with the divine and eternal “ether” that caused
the spheres to move. He introduced the Prime
Mover, as the cause of the movement of the spheres.
His model composed of 56 spheres that guided the
motion of the Sun, the Moon, and five known planets.
As the spheres move, they maintained the same
distance from the Earth. Also, they moved at constant
speeds.
 Aristarchus' Model
 Aristarchus of Samos (born c. 310 B.C.), a Greek
astronomer and mathematician, was the first
to hypothesize that the Sun is the center
of the universe. He visualized that the Moon
orbits around a spherical Earth which then
revolves around the Sun. He believed that the
stars are very far away from the Earth as
evidenced by the absence of stellar parallax –
that is, the stars do not change positions relative
to each other as the Earth revolves around the
Sun.
 Through geometrical models and mathematical
computations, he concluded that the Sun is 20
times farther from the Earth than the Moon is to
the Earth; the Earth is about three times larger
than the Moon; and the Sun is 20 times larger
than the Moon. He also reasoned out that
smaller spheres orbit around larger ones.
Thus, the Moon orbits around the Earth, and the
Earth orbits around the Sun.
 Ptolemy’s Model
 The Sun, Moon, stars, and planets were believed
to move in a uniform circular motion – the
“perfect” motion assigned to celestial bodies by
the ancient Greeks. However, observations
showed otherwise. The paths of the celestial
bodies are not circular, and they vary in
distances. Babylonians even showed that some
planets exhibit a retrograde motion – a motion
opposite to that of other planets.
 To explain “imperfect motions” of heavenly
bodies, Claudius Ptolemy (born c. 90 A.D.), a
Greco-Egyptian astronomer and mathematician,
proposed his own geocentric (Earth-centered)
model of the universe. He accounted for the
apparent motions of the planets around the
Earth by assuming that each planet moved
around a sphere called an epicycle. The center
of the epicycle then moved on a larger sphere
called a deferent.
 The Ptolemaic System
1. A planet moves counter-clockwise around the epicycle.
2. The epicycle’s center also moves counter-clockwise around the
center of the deferent (indicated by the + sign in the image).
3. The center of the epicycle moves around the equant with a uniform
speed.
4. The Earth is not exactly at the center of the deferent, or it is
eccentric (off the center). This explains why, as observed from the
Earth, the Sun or a planet moves slowest when it is farthest from the
Earth and moves fastest when it is nearest the Earth.
5. The motion of the planet can be described by points 1-7 in the figure
below. At point 4, the planet moves in a retrograde (clockwise)
motion. The planet is brightest at this point because it is closest to
the Earth.
 Copernicus' Model
 In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus, a Renaissance
mathematician and astronomer born in Poland,
ended the geocentric astronomy era by
publishing his work On the Revolutions of the
Heavenly Spheres wherein he explained that the
Sun, not the Earth, is the center of the universe.
 In his work, he reiterated the ancient Greek
concept that the motion of spherical heavenly
bodies is uniform, eternal, and circular. He then
reasoned that because Earth is spherical, then its
motion is circular. He added that the Earth has
three different motions: daily rotation on its axis,
yearly motion around the Sun, and the
precession, or change in orientation, of its axis
every 26 000 years.
 He also proposed that the fixed stars are
immovable. Their apparent movement is a
consequence of the Earth’s rotation. These
stars are at immeasurable distances
from the Earth, so there is no observable
parallax.
 By placing the Sun at the center of the universe
and the orbits of Mercury and Venus in between
the Sun and the Earth, Copernicus’ model was
able to account for the changes in the
appearances of these planets and their
retrograde motions. The need for epicycles in
explaining motions was eliminated.
 Parallax is the effect wherein an object’s position
appears to change when viewed by an observer
from different positions. You can demonstrate
this by looking at your forefinger at arm’s length.
Cover your left eye and look at your forefinger.
Then transfer the cover on your right eye and
observe the position of your forefinger. What did
you observe?
 Key Points
 Eudoxus’, Aristotle’s, and Ptolemy’s models have the Earth as the center
of the universe while Aristarchus’ and Copernicus’ models have the Sun
as the center.
 Eudoxus’ model has 27 concentric spheres for the Sun, Moon, planets,
and the stars whose common center is the Earth.
 Aristotle’s model of the universe is composed of 56 spheres guiding the
motion of Sun, Moon and the five known planets.
 Aristarchus said that smaller celestial bodies must orbit the larger ones
and since the Sun is much larger than the Earth, then the Earth must
orbit around the Sun.
 Ptolemaic model introduced the concepts of epicycle, deferent, and
equant to explain the observed “imperfect” motions of the planets.
 Copernicus’ model recognized that the Earth rotates on its axis, revolves
around the Sun, and undergoes precession.