Research topic: Copernican system

Copernican system first modern European theory of planetary motion that was heliocentric, i.e., that placed the sun motionless at the center of the solar system with all the planets, including the earth, revolving around it. Copernicus developed his theory in the early 16th cent. from a study of ancient astronomical records. He retained the ancient belief that the planets move in perfect circles and therefore, like Ptolemy , he was forced to utilize epicycles to explain deviations from uniform motion (see Ptolemaic system ). Thus, the Copernican system was technically only a slight... Read more