ASTB03-3836 The Copernican Revolution

ASTB03-3836

The Copernican Revolution

           Copernicus is a mathematician and astronomer in the 16th century. His book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, post the Heliocentric theory for the first time, give an alternative model of the universe to geocentric system.

1) The Earth is spinning around its axis every day, while the immense distant world of stars is motionless.

     This is one of the characteristics of Heliocentric theory. Supporters of Geocentric supporters argued that  "if Earth moved man would have some sort of perception of that movement. If Earth were moving at the speed required to explain movements observed in the heavens, a strong wind would continually,  blow in the direction opposite to the motion of Earth. In addition, if one were to throw a stone straight up into the air, a moving Earth would cause the stone to fall some distance behind its original position."(1) However, Geocentric theory can't make an illustration about why Sun rises in the East everyday and sets in the West, and Heliocentric theory can easily illustrate such phenomenon by stating the Earth's rotation. Like copernicus said,

"Such in particular is the daily rotation, since it seems to involve the entire universe except the earth and what is around it. However, if you grant that the heavens have no part in this motion but that the earth rotates from west to east, upon earnest consideration you will find that this is the actual situation concerning the apparent rising and setting of the sun, moon, stars and planets. Moreover since the heavens, which enclose and provide the setting for everything, constitute the space common to all things, it is not at first blush clear why motion should not be attributed rather to the enclosed than to the enclosing, to the thing located in space rather than to the framework of space."(2)

2) the Earth is a planet orbiting the Sun once a year like the other planets, so it is not in the center of the universe.

    It's the greatest difference as well as most well_known point in the whole Heliocentric theory. The Geocentric theory points out the Earth is the centre of the universe, ignoring that the same planet may nearer than the Earth at one time and far away from the Earth at another time. Copernicus insist, if the Earth is the centre of the universe, at anytime distance between the Earth, Sun and other planets in the solar system should unchanged. He regard this as same important characteristic of his theory as daily rotation. 

" It will occasion no surprise if, in addition to the daily rotation, some other motion is assigned to the earth. That the earth rotates, that it also travels with several motions, and that it is one of the heavenly bodies are said to have been the opinions of Philolaus the Pythagorean."(3)

(iii) the Sun does not orbit around the Earth, but remains motionless in the center of the planetary system.

In his book,   De revolutionibus orbium coelestium,  Copernicus points out that the Earth isn't the centre of the planetary system. so who's the centre? Copernicus first stated that the centre of the system should have the same characteristics as the Earth, Sun, Moon etc. It should have gravity, should rotate as other planets do. As well, it should have the same motion which can be seen not only from the Earth, but can also be seen from Moon and other planets. Copernicus thinks that the scenery we see everyday in the morning and evening---the rising and setting of Sun, can also be seen from other planets in the system, he also make sense that Sun is so large, as well as which is the evidence showing that Sun should be the centre of the planetary system and remains motionless.

Heliocentric theory of the solar system in Copernicus' Manuscript(4)

Though Aristarchus, Greek astronomer who is the first person put Sun into the centre of the solar system and describe the heliocentric theory, Copernicus is the first one who use the evidences and proofs to illustrate Heliocentric theory such systematic. He also the first one who publish a book which statement is fully against the Catholic Church's statement. Help Science make the first step to get rid of control from the Catholic Church. Just like Friedrich Von Engels said " the dictatorship of the Church over men's minds was shattered', the 'greatest progressive revolution that mankind had so far experienced'"(5).

Citations:

(1) Historic Dispute : Is Earth the center of the universe?,    http://www.scienceclarified.com/dispute/Vol-2/Historic-Dispute-Is-Earth-the-center-of-the-universe.html

(2),(3) Nicholas Copernicus On the Revolutions, translation and commentary by Edward Rosen. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London.

(4) Copernicus' manuscript: "De revolutionibus", Book One, Chapter 10: The Order of the Heavenly Spheres.

(5) F. Engels, The Dialectics of Nature in Marx, Engels, Collected Works (MECW), Vol 25 (London, 1987), P319