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The Ptolemaic and Copernican models

Claudius Ptolemy was a citizen of the Roman Empire, who lived around the year 100 AD. Ptolemy was influential in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, and geography. In astronomy Ptolemy relied somewhat on the theories and observations of previous astronomers, such as the geocentric model designed by Aristotle; to create his own model of our solar system. Ptolemy’s model of planetary motion was one of his greatest contributions to the science of astronomy.
The model (seen in 1.1) was based on a geocentric theory, and was so important at the time because it seemed to accurately explain the motions of the planets and the heavens. Ptolemy believed that each planet moved on a small circle, called an epicycle, and that these epicycles moved on a larger circle called a deferent. He explained the movement of the stars by theorizing that they existed on a separate celestial sphere outside the planetary spheres. Ptolemy was very adamant that planetary motion should be explained using only u...

Posted by: Leonard Herriman

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