Heliocentrism
The impact of the Heliocentric Theory Heliocentric: Relating to the sun
as a
center; appearing as if seen from the sun's center.(Webster,447)
The
heliocentric theory was first introduced to the world by a Polish
astronomer
named Nicolaus Copernicus. Copernicus published his views on the
heliocentric
theory in his book Commentariolus, in 1514, which sparked the
time period now
known as the Copernican Revolution. Heliocentrism was proven
true by the
discoveries of Galileo, Kepler, and Newton; through their efforts
to prove the
validity of the heliocentric theory people began to find truth
in science
through experimentation rather than religion with no proof. Many
scientists went
through great ordeals for their scientific beliefs, thus
making the heliocentric
theory the most electrifying idea in human history.
Ancient people's believed in
Gods and deities for causes to nature and
the unexplained. Once the fourth
century BC rolled around, people began to
see "astronomical phenomena"
as "natural compound products of simple
operations repeated in
perpetuity" rather than the actions of Gods. (Morphet,
p.6) Greeks did not
revere celestial bodies very strongly in their religion,
despite having deities
for the Sun and Moon. (North, p.78) Different peoples
beliefs varied greatly in
ancient times. Different countries progressed in
thought at different speeds.
During the Renaissance, many began to "toss
aside medieval preoccupations
with supernatural forces and turned to secular
concerns" like fame. (Yamasaki,
p.50) With the "Age of Discovery," people
began to think for
themselves and ponder truths through philosophy, science,
astronomy, astrology,
etc. Philosophers' minds began to turn, the human mind
was finally awake. Plato,
a famous Greek philosopher, believed stars were
Gods that the creator gave life
to. This view was very influential and proved
to be sort of a religion for
intellectual idealists, no longer for the
populace. At the time, the thought of
heavenly bodies being divine, and stars
being eternal objects in unchanging
motion were common knowledge. Thinking
otherwise was considered Atheistic.
(North, p.78) Fellow famous Renaissance
man, and Plato's pupil, Aristotle, was
also a very important figure. Born in
Stagira in 384, Aristotle is regarded as
the most influential ancient
philosopher of the sciences. Aristotle refined
Callippus' geometrical and
spherical concepts, and developed the geocentric
theory, which was believed
for two thousand years. (North, p.80) Aristotle
believed that the sphere is
the most perfect figure because when rotated to any
diameter it occupies the
same space; and that circular motions are a sign of
perfection, which is why
Heaven is considered divine. The spherical nature of
the Earth and Universe
according to Aristotle, is the natural movement of
Earthly matter from
all places downwards, to a center, around which a sphere of
matter will build
up. "Only circular motion is capable of endless
repetition without a reversal
of direction, and rotary motion is prior to linear
because what is external,
or at least could have always existed, is prior, or at
least potentially
prior, to what is not." In Aristotle's book De Caelo (On
the Heavens), he
speaks of the celestial sphere, the Earth's center being the
same shape, and
dismissing the idea of the Earth rotating at the center of the
universe. He
also dismisses the idea of an orbital motion of the Earth. (North,
p.81)
Contradicting Aristotle, Heracleides, an astronomer, believed in the
rotation
of the Earth on it's axis and is known to be the earliest astronomer to
stand
by it. He was thought to have taken the first step in "Copernicanism."
It
is believed in the years to follow that Copernicus was said to have
mentioned
Heracleides' name in this connection. (North, p.85) Aristarchus
of Samos was the
first astronomer to clearly put forth a true sun-centered
theory, learned from
Archimedes. (North, p.85) "...Aristarchus'
hypotheses are that the fixed
stars and the Sun are stationary, that the
Earth is carried in a circular orbit
around the Sun, which lies in the middle
of it's orbit, and that the spheres of
fixed stars, having the same center as
the Sun, is so great in extent that the
circle on which the Earth is
supposedly carried is in the same ratio to the
distance of the sphere has to
its surface." (North, p.85-6) If Aristarchus
did believe in heliocentrism, he
still could not prove the differences in the
Earth's motion and seasons,
which explains its failure to be accepted. (North,
p.86-7) Although
scientists such as Eudoxus, Callippus, and Aristotle all came
up with
Earth-centered systems based by providing a center for all
motions,
Ptolemy was triumphant for he was able to explain sphere sizes
and achieved a
single system, which was not done by the others. "When Ptolemy
achieved a
single system, the sizes of the shells accommodating maximum and
minimum
planetary distances were settled on the principle that there must be
no void, no
wasted space, between them." (North, p.285) His misconception was
he
believed that if the Earth was not fixed entirely, it would shatter, even
though
Copernicus reveals that planets' distances from Earth and motions
vary, and that
the Earth endlessly repeats in motion. (North, p.286) Despite
the Catholic
Church adopting Ptolemy's and Aristotle's beliefs of
geocentrism, those theories
did not correspond to the astronomical
observations of the time. (Yamasaki,
p.50) The Copernican Revolution began
during the European Renaissance and was
named after Nicolaus Copernicus.
(Morphet, p.4) "...this period saw
elements of a modern scientific outlook
extend its boundaries into areas of
enquiry where observation and measurement
had hitherto been less important than
philosophical speculation and a priori
reasoning." (Morphet, p.4-5)
"...although the Copernican heliocentric theory
dealt directly with the
structure of the solar system, its indirect
consequences embraced the whole
fabric of thought, inaugurating a
breakthrough in people's outlook on the world.
Copernicus liberated the
human mind, which had been fettered up to his day by
traditional conventions,
and he opposed the basing of science solely on sensory
experiences. Taking a
stand against the entire world of that time and against
the supreme authority
that he recognized—the church and the Holy Scripture,
against the views
consolidated and sanctified by the knowledge of scholars of
many previous
centuries—he instilled into the minds of men boldness in
thinking, but he
also taught them humility in the quest for truth. Copernicus'
science of the
stars is also a science of man and his place on an Earth which is
spinning
through the universe." (Adamczewski, p. 156-7) Copernicus
published the first
outline on heliocentrism in his book Commentary on the
Hypothesis of the
Movement of Celestial Orbs, in 1514. It was the first of its
kind, without
all of the mathematics. (Adamczewski, p.114) The Copernican theory
explained
the Earth-Sun line and gave a more plausible reason as to why the
Sun's
role is important in the motions of the Moon and planets in the solar
system
when compared to Ptolemy's. "By introducing the Sun into the theory
of motion
of every planet, Copernicus made it possible to represent all in a
single
system." (North, p.285) The heliocentric system presented the
planets
positions more logically, going around or below the Sun. It also
explained
the relative sizes of the planet's retrograde arcs and why
outer-stellar
planets are brightest in opposition. (North, p.287) Society's
reaction to the
heliocentric system was not a favorable one. Many people thought
"Who would
dare to place Copernicus' authority higher than the Holy
Scripture?"
(Adamczewski, p.148) Believing that the Earth rotates on its
axis, planets
revolve around the Sun, and planetary orbits were elliptical due
to the force
of gravity was then thought of as inconceivable. (Morphet,
p.4)
Copernicus was passionately criticized by colleagues and peers for
his
enthusiasm of the ancient philosophers, who were viewed as incorrect.
(Adamczewski,
p.141) The only point that Copernicus was trying to makes was
that
"...there does not exist any common center for all the celestial orbs
or
spheres; the center of the Earth is not the center of the universe; but
only the
center of gravity and the center of the Moon's path; all the planets
revolve
around the Sun, which is the center." (Adamczewski, p.115) As a
result of
the bad reaction towards Copernicus' views, he hesitated from
publishing his
famous book De Revolutionibus. Copernicus claims that
"apprehension of the
derision which I had to fear because of the hard-to-
understand novelty of my
theory." (Adamczewski, p.144) Prior to the March 21,
1543 publication of De
Revolutionibus, a falsifier of Copernicus' work,
Andreas Osiander, added his own
foreword to the book saying that it was " a
fictitious scheme for
calculations," just an hypothesis. Osiander also had
the audacity to change
Copernicus' title to De Revolutionibus Orbium
Coelestium. (Adamczewski, p.153-4)
To free himself from heresy,
Copernicus dedicated his book to Pope Paul III:
"I am fully aware, Holy
Father, that as soon as they hear that in these
volumes of mine about the
revolutions of the spheres of the universe I attribute
some sort of motion to
the Earth, some persons will immediately raise a cry of
condemnation against
me and my theories." (Adamczewski, p.152) Ironically,
Copernicus' forward
in De Revolutionibus states that "...Copernicus'
conveys to his
contemporaries and to generations to come his new ideas which
were to prove
to be so dangerous to the order then extant." (Adamczewski,
p.137) Little did
he know how true his words were. De Revolutionibus consists of
six volumes:
1)General survey of Copernicus' system, and plane and spherical
triangles.
2)Spherical astronomy. 3)The precession and motion of the Earth.
4)The
Moon. 5)Planets in longitude. 6)Planets in latitude. (North,
p.285-6)
Despite Copernicus' book being six volumes it is still similar
to Ptolemy's
book, Almagest. (North, p.286) The Church did not take any
definite stand with
Copernicus' book—since it was dedicated to the Pope
and thought of only as an
"hypothesis" due to the false forward by
Osiander—until the
Reformation and scientific discoveries like Galileo's,
was it seen as a threat
to the power of the Church. (Adamczewski, p.158) In
1620, Cardinal of St.
Cecilia and Bishop Albano, the Secretary of the
Congregation placed Copernicus'
book on the Index of Prohibited Books, which
resulted in Orthodox Catholics not
being allowed to read it for two
centuries. (Adamczewski, p.159) The Age of
Discovery was not a safe time
for any "scientific novelties" which
were in opposition to the teachings of
the Church. Any contradiction to the Holy
Scripture were "subject to
judgement by the Inquisition." The
Inquisito Haereticae Pravitatis,
Sanctum Officium was established in 1215. It's
mission was to "combat all
views and trends which were considered heretical
and anti-church. All
opposers were to face the dungeon, torture, and burning at
the stake. The
onset of the Reformation weakened the Inquisition, but only for a
short time
until the Church began to fight against it. Victims were adherents
of
heretical views, suspects of blasphemy and sacrilege, mainly scholars
whose
views and beliefs did not conform with the dogmas of the Church.
(Adamczewski,
p.157) Reactions towards Copernicus' views and theories had
"aroused mush
opposition and downright hostility" due to the inability of
some to
comprehend Copernicus. They were too "accustomed to
hard-and-fast
schemas" which was accepted worldly then, written in the Holy
Scripture,
deemed as "immutable." (Adamczewski, p.147) This resulted
in
Copernicus' last years being dismal and De Revolutionibus "lain
well
hidden." (Adamczewski, p.148-50) Nicolaus Copernicus died in Frombork
on
May 24th, 1543. He was seventy years old and all that is know of his
final years
are hidden in the shadows of Frombork Castle. (Adamczewski,
p.154) Nicolaus
Copernicus was seen as "...the man who set the Earth in
motion."
(North, p.285) "No Genghis Khan, no Napoleon, no emperor nor pope,
has had
a more radical influence on the history of mankind than
Nicolaus
Copernicus." (Adamczewski, p.7) "Of all the discoveries and
opinions
proclaimed nothing surely had made such a deep impression on the
human mind as
the science of Copernicus." (Adamczewski, p. 157) Giordano
Bruno, who also
suffered from the Inquisition for his scientific views as did
Galileo, had said
that "Copernicus had not only moved the Earth but also set
in motion the
minds of men." (Adamczewski, p.161) "The Copernican
Revolution
consisted in overcoming the view which had enormous prestige
sanctified by
centuries of acceptance as scientific knowledge, in taking up
the old idea of
the heliocentric system, in creating for this Inquisition as
ful and rigorous a
scientific foundation as was possible with the framework
of the time...Accepting
a threefold motion of the Earth and placing it in the
row of planets, of moving
heavenly bodies, Copernicus constructed a new
heliocentric models of the world
and laid the foundation for a new vision of
the universe." (Adamczewski,
p.156) It did not end there. Three men would
later come along to consolidate the
Copernican heliocentric system:
Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, and Isaac
Newton. (Adamczewski, p.158)
The key figure in the battle to have the new
astronomy accepted by the Church
was Galileo Galilei. He "campaigned to
reconcile" the Copernican theory with
Christianity, which resulted in a
program defined by Galileo to separate
science and faith. (Morphet, p.5) Galileo
Galilei was born in Pisa,
Italy, in 1564. Galileo is most known for having
invented the telescope, an
instrument he would later use to find evidence to
defend the heliocentric
theory. A very opinionated and questioning man for his
time, Galileo became
unpopular for challenging ancient beliefs and believing in
the Copernican
theory. After he had learned of Hans Lippershey, a Dutch
eyeglass-maker,
inventing a spyglass, Galileo got himself one and altered it
making the first
telescope. He was now able to see thirty-three times farther
into the sky.
Despite the evidence Galileo was able to show to back up his
discoveries,
people still refused to believe him. Their ignorance and loyalty to
the old
Aristotelian ways was the problem. Through his telescope Galileo saw
features
if the Moon and endless amounts of stars, but people just thought that
he was
being tricked by the Moon. In 1610, Galileo published his discoveries in
a
book called Starry Messenger. One of his discoveries being that of
Jupiter
having four Moons! Wow. It was translated and sold all over the
world. By the
end of that year, he had discovered that Jupiter also had
rings, but most
importantly he discovered that the Sun was the center of the
solar system
because the sunlight on the other planets move across like here
on Earth. He now
had the proof to defend the Copernican heliocentric theory,
but would people
believe him? After the 1613 of another book called Letters
on Sunspots, Pope
Paul found Galileo's book a threat to the Catholic
Church. In 1616, The Pope
denounced the Copernican theory, surprising
Galileo. During 1626, a group formed
and plotted to ruin Galileo. They felt
that faith was more important than the
truth of the universe. The asked
Galileo to renounce his belief in heliocentrism
and his discoveries because
the Bible spoke nothing of his discoveries therefore
they thought them false.
Despite the evidence Galileo now had to prove the
validity of the
heliocentric theory, the Church ordered Galileo to speak of
heliocentrism
only as an hypothesis even though it was true. Galileo's third
book, Dialogue
on the Two Great Systems of the World, was about the Church and
science.
Although it was very popular the Pope banned it feeling it was wrong
and
insulting. The Church now saw his book as heresy and ordered Galileo
to
appear before the Holy Office of the Inquisition. Now 68 years old and
failing
in health, Galileo publicly recanted and admitted his crimes in order
to save
his life. He was not able to escape the wrath of the Inquisition and
was
confined to his home for the rest of his life. Seeing that the
Inquisition gave
harsher punishments than that, Galileo was glad to receive a
light conviction.
Galileo lived to be 78 years old, and died in 1642 due
to sickness causing his
to be bedridden his last three years. Through
Galileo's experiments and
discoveries he was able to confirm Copernicus
theories, further developed
observational astronomy, and with Kepler,
prepared the groundwork for Isaac
Newton's discovery of the Law of
Universal Gravitation. (Adamczewski, p.158)
Bibliography
Primary
North, John. The Norton History of Astronomy ans Cosmology. New
York:
W.W. Norton and Company, 1995. Information on the history of
astronomy,
cosmology, and the important figures who helped to further develop
science.
Quotes and information were used in my report. Adamczewski, Jan.
Nicolaus
Copernicus and His Epoch. Washington DC: Copernicus Society of
America, 197-. A
biography on Nicolaus Copernicus. Information on Copernicus
and quotes were used
in my report. Morphet, Clive. Galileo and Copernican
Astronomy: A scientific
world view defined. Boston: Buttherworths, 1977. The
influence of Copernicus and
Galileo in the history of science.
Information and quotes on these two figures
were used in my report.
Silverburg, Robert. Four Men Who Changed the Universe.
New York: G.P.
Putnam's Sons, 1968. Information on four figures who changed
science:
Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, and Brahe. Quotes and facts on all four of
these
men were used in my report. "Copernican System." Passages from
De
Revolutionibus.
http://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/Things/copernican_system.html
Website
containing information on Galileo, and other science-related things
involving
Galileo. A picture of Copernicus' heliocentric theory was used to help
with
the background information to my report. Secondary Sis, Peter.
Starry
Messenger. New York: Frances Foster Books, 1996. A pictorial
biography of
Galileo Galilei. Information on his life was used for
background information to
my report. Yamasaki, Mitch. The Scientific
Revolution in Pre-Modern Europe.
Honolulu, Hawaii: National History Day,
1998. An essay on the Scientific
Revolution sparked by the introduction
of heliocentrism. Information on
Copernicus and his influences were used
for background information.
"Galileo," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 96
Encyclopedia. (c)1993-1995
Microsoft Corp. This CD-ROM contained photos
and information on Galileo Galilei.
Facts on Galileo were used for
background information in my report.
"Johannes Kepler," Microsoft(R)
Encarta(R) 98 Encyclopedia.
(c)1993-1997 Microsoft Corp. This CD-ROM article
contained general information
on Kepler. Facts on his impact in science were
used in my research. People Who
Have Influenced Our Ideas of the Solar
System. http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/psc/theman.html
This
website contained information on key figures in the development of
astronomy.
Information on scientists was used in my research.