Theories can be constructed to account for the observations, we can never empirically answer Plato taught that since an infinite number of Though the Earth is spinning and orbiting the Sun. Understanding of inertia and forces that explains why this does not happen even Rocks, trees, and people are not hurled off the Earth proved to them that the Earth was That things can be flung off an object that is spinning rapidly. Hit the Earth far behind from the point where the leap began. If the Earth were moving, then anyone jumping from a high point would If the Earth were spinning as suggested by some radicals. Finally, our senses show that the Earth appears to be stationary!Īir, clouds, birds, and other things unattached to the ground are not leftīehind as they would be if the Earth was moving.Over, but without a telescope, it takes hundreds of years to notice the Their lifetimes are much more than a human lifetime so they appear unchanging.Īlso, modern astronomers know that the stars do change positions with respect to each other Stars are born and eventually die (some quite spectacularly!)-the length of Regularity that is never achieved on the corruptible Earth. Theyīelieved that the celestial bodies have an immutable In contrast to this, they saw the Earth as the home of birth, change, and destruction. The Greeks saw little change in the heavens-the stars are the same night after night.Objects like our Sun but very far away and the planets are just reflecting Modern astronomers now know that the stars are Immense, nonluminous sphere of mud and rock. The celestial objects are bright points of light while the Earth is an.This idea gained acceptance only recently when telescopes extended our vision. One planet of eight (plus 5 dwarf planets at the time of writing) that orbit an average star in the outskirts of a large galaxy, but Some of the observations that convinced the Greeks that the Earth was His model was not accepted because of the obvious observations against a moving One student namedĪristarchus violated that rule and developed a model with the Sun at the center. The Earth should be at the unmoving center of the planet motions. This meant that regardless of the scheme they came up with, Plato and his students were, of course, also guided by the
Retrograde motion (drifts westward with respect to the stars), it becomes brighter. One key observation: as a planet undergoes Geometric explanation for the apparent motion of the planets, especially Plato gave his students a major problem to work on. Select the photographs to display the original source in Video lecture for this chapter This material (including images) is copyrighted!. History and Philosophy of Western Astronomy Plato's Homework Problem Chapter index in this window
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