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Nicolaus Copernicus introduced the heliocentric cosmology to Renaissance Europe in his book De Revolutionibus . Although he retained the Aristotelian idea of uniform circular motion, Copernicus suggested that Earth is a planet and that the planets all circle about the Sun, dethroning Earth from its position at the center of the universe. Galileo was the father of both modern experimental physics and telescopic astronomy. He studied the acceleration of moving objects and, in 1610, began telescopic observations, discovering the nature of the Milky Way, the large-scale features of the Moon, the phases of Venus, and four moons of Jupiter. Although he was accused of heresy for his support of heliocentric cosmology, Galileo is credited with observations and brilliant writings that convinced most of his scientific contemporaries of the reality of the Copernican theory.

For further exploration

Articles

Ancient Astronomy

Gingerich, O. “From Aristarchus to Copernicus.” Sky&Telescope (November 1983): 410.

Gingerich, O. “Islamic Astronomy.” Scientific American (April 1986): 74.

Astronomy and Astrology

Fraknoi, A. “Your Astrology Defense Kit.” Sky&Telescope (August 1989): 146.

Copernicus and Galileo

Gingerich, O. “Galileo and the Phases of Venus.” Sky&Telescope (December 1984): 520.

Gingerich, O. “How Galileo Changed the Rules of Science.” Sky&Telescope (March 1993): 32.

Maran, S., and Marschall, L. “The Moon, the Telescope, and the Birth of the Modern World.” Sky&Telescope (February 2009): 28.

Sobel, D. “The Heretic’s Daughter: A Startling Correspondence Reveals a New Portrait of Galileo.” The New Yorker (September 13, 1999): 52.

Websites

Ancient Astronomy

Aristarchos of Samos: http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/JRASC/0075//0000029.000.html. By Dr. Alan Batten.

Claudius Ptolemy: http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Ptolemy.html. An interesting biography.

Hipparchus of Rhodes: http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Hipparchus.html. An interesting biography.

Astronomy and Astrology

Astrology and Science: http://www.astrology-and-science.com/hpage.htm. The best site for a serious examination of the issues with astrology and the research on whether it works.

Real Romance in the Stars: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/the-real-romance-in-the-stars-1527970.html. 1995 newspaper commentary attacking astrology.

Copernicus and Galileo

Galileo Galilei: http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Galileo.html. A good biography with additional links.

Galileo Project: http://galileo.rice.edu/. Rice University’s repository of information on Galileo.

Nicolaus Copernicus: http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Copernicus.html. A biography including links to photos about his life.

Videos

Astronomy and Astrology

Astrology Debunked: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y84HX2pMo5U. A compilation of scientists and magicians commenting skeptically on astrology (9:09).

Copernicus and Galileo

Galileo: http://www.biography.com/people/galileo-9305220. A brief biography (2:51).

Galileo’s Battle for the Heavens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnEH9rbrIkk. A NOVA episode on PBS (1:48:55)

Questions & Answers

A golfer on a fairway is 70 m away from the green, which sits below the level of the fairway by 20 m. If the golfer hits the ball at an angle of 40° with an initial speed of 20 m/s, how close to the green does she come?
Aislinn Reply
cm
tijani
what is titration
John Reply
what is physics
Siyaka Reply
A mouse of mass 200 g falls 100 m down a vertical mine shaft and lands at the bottom with a speed of 8.0 m/s. During its fall, how much work is done on the mouse by air resistance
Jude Reply
Can you compute that for me. Ty
Jude
what is the dimension formula of energy?
David Reply
what is viscosity?
David
what is inorganic
emma Reply
what is chemistry
Youesf Reply
what is inorganic
emma
Chemistry is a branch of science that deals with the study of matter,it composition,it structure and the changes it undergoes
Adjei
please, I'm a physics student and I need help in physics
Adjanou
chemistry could also be understood like the sexual attraction/repulsion of the male and female elements. the reaction varies depending on the energy differences of each given gender. + masculine -female.
Pedro
A ball is thrown straight up.it passes a 2.0m high window 7.50 m off the ground on it path up and takes 1.30 s to go past the window.what was the ball initial velocity
Krampah Reply
2. A sled plus passenger with total mass 50 kg is pulled 20 m across the snow (0.20) at constant velocity by a force directed 25° above the horizontal. Calculate (a) the work of the applied force, (b) the work of friction, and (c) the total work.
Sahid Reply
you have been hired as an espert witness in a court case involving an automobile accident. the accident involved car A of mass 1500kg which crashed into stationary car B of mass 1100kg. the driver of car A applied his brakes 15 m before he skidded and crashed into car B. after the collision, car A s
Samuel Reply
can someone explain to me, an ignorant high school student, why the trend of the graph doesn't follow the fact that the higher frequency a sound wave is, the more power it is, hence, making me think the phons output would follow this general trend?
Joseph Reply
Nevermind i just realied that the graph is the phons output for a person with normal hearing and not just the phons output of the sound waves power, I should read the entire thing next time
Joseph
Follow up question, does anyone know where I can find a graph that accuretly depicts the actual relative "power" output of sound over its frequency instead of just humans hearing
Joseph
"Generation of electrical energy from sound energy | IEEE Conference Publication | IEEE Xplore" ***ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7150687?reload=true
Ryan
what's motion
Maurice Reply
what are the types of wave
Maurice
answer
Magreth
progressive wave
Magreth
hello friend how are you
Muhammad Reply
fine, how about you?
Mohammed
hi
Mujahid
A string is 3.00 m long with a mass of 5.00 g. The string is held taut with a tension of 500.00 N applied to the string. A pulse is sent down the string. How long does it take the pulse to travel the 3.00 m of the string?
yasuo Reply
Who can show me the full solution in this problem?
Reofrir Reply
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Source:  OpenStax, Astronomy. OpenStax CNX. Apr 12, 2017 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11992/1.13
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