Astronomy Chapter 3 - Copernican Revolution

the quadrant

measured star's altitude above horizon, used to calculate person's latitude on Earth's surface

the astrolabe

persian; an early star chart

stonehenge

english; sun lines up on rocks at certain times of day

artwork & paintings

used astronomy themes

mexico city pyramids

dedicated to sun & moon

what was the reasoning behind ancients' interest in the changing night sky?

practical

first example of ancients' practical interest in changing night sky

farmers - needed to understand seasons for planting & harvesting crops

second example of ancients' practical interest in changing night sky

seafarers - used stars for navigation, esp. Polaris

cosmetology

study of hairdressing

cosmology

scientific study of structure & evolution of universe

what was the universe to the ancient Greeks?

Solar system - sun, moon, planets

what do mere points of lights represent in our universe today?

entire galaxies - 100+ billion stars

what does geo mean?

earth

what does centric mean?

centered

geocentric model = ?

earth is at center of everything

who devised the geocentric model?

Claudius Ptolemy

when did Ptolemy live?

83 AD - 165 AD (82 yrs)

what seemed to wander across the CS as the geocentric model was being devised?

planets

did the stars seem to wander across the CS?

no

in reality, what is really going on in our SS concerning orbiting?

planets all orbit Sun & are moving against background of stars

prograde motion

forward/eastward drift of planets

retrograde motion

apparent backward/westward drift of planets

what did the planets seem to do on occasion?

back up, then move forward again

what was Ptolemy's explanation for retrograde motion?

planets orbit Earth using two pivot arms

epicycle

small loop

deferent

large loop

first arguement for Geocentric model

Earth doesn't feel like it's moving, so we can't be going around the sun

what is the first counter-arguement against GCM?

nonaccelerating motion can't be detected

second arguement for GCM

if we revolve around Sun, why don't we observe stellar parallax?

stellar

stars

second counter-arguement against GCM

stars are too far away for parallax to occur

third argument for GCM

if Earth moved through space, how could the moon keep up with it without a tether?

third counter-arguement against GCM

the moon moves because of inertia & gravity from Earth

fourth arguement for GCM

if Earth spins on its axis, why aren't things flying off into space?

fourth counter-arguement against GCM

we aren't spinning fast enough, we'd have to spin 17x faster for things to fly off

helio

sun

centric

centered

heliocentric model (HCM) means...

sun is at center

who devised HCM?

polish Nicholas Copernicus

when did Copernicus live?

1473 - 1543

in HCM, all planets orbit...

the sun

in HCM, moon orbits...

Earth

in HCM, stars...

stay fixed outside SS

how did Copernicus explain retrograde motion?

planets orbit sun at different distances, outside orbit = slower, inside orbit = faster

as Earth passed Mars, it appeared to...

back up

Copernicus published a book explaining his thinking but died thinking he was...

wrong

Hans Lippershay (HL)

dutch (netherlands) eyeglass maker

what did HL do in 1608?

placed 2 lenses together & made world's first telescope

what was HL's first telescope called?

the looker

whom did HL sell his first telescope to?

dutch navy

Galileo Galilei - GG (origin, profession, life dates)

italian astronomer, 1570 - 1619

what is GG the "Father" of and why?

Father of Experimental Science - willingness to perform experiments to test his new ideas

what did GG do?

build his own telescope after only HEARING about HL's

did GG invent the telescope?

NOOOOO

GG was the first to use the telescope for what?

astronomical observation

what was the magnification of GG's first telescope?

9x

what was the magnification of GG's final telescope (by the time he died)?

30x

since the teachings of Aristotle in 300BC, the heavens were believed to consist of what?

perfect spheres

what did GG's observations conflict with?

Ptolemy and his GCM

what was GG's first discovery?

moon had mountains & craters on it & was NOT a perfect sphere

what was GG's second discovery?

sun had blemishes on it (sunspots)

what was GG's third discovery?

Jupiter had 4 moons orbiting it - IO, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto

what are Jupiter's four moons now known as?

4 Galilean moons of Jupiter

what did GG's third discovery conclude & why?

Earth's moon could be orbiting it without Earth being the center of the universe because that's exactly what Jupiter's moons are doing

what was GG's fourth & final discovery?

Venus goes through full cycle of phases like the moon

was Venus ever visible at midnight?

NOOO

was a full Venus ever visible from Earth?

NOOO

If GCM were correct, would Venus be visible at midnight and a full Venus visible from Earth?

yes!

If HCM were correct, would Venus be visible at midnight and a full Venus visible from Earth?

NOOO

Which discovery convinced GG that Copernicus's HCM was correct?

Venus's phases

what was Galileo's book called?

The Dialego

what did GG's book incorporate?

simplicio" or simpleton, which made arguments against GCM simple

which language did GG publish The Dialego in? could everyone read it?

ITALIAN, yes!

which language would only scholars be able to read?

latin

which pope was not amused with GG?

Pope Urban VIII (8)

what did Pope Urban VIII do?

place GG under arrest for heresy, the crime of going against the church

what was GG forced to do during his trial?

recant his belief in Copernican system

for the last 8 years of GG's life, what happened to him?

placed under house arrest

what did GG suffer from as a result of his curiosity as an astronomer?

blindness from staring at sun

where was GG's body buried?

a tomb in Church of Holy Cross - Florence, Italy

what was placed on display in Museum of Science (Florence, Italy)

GG's middle finger

which pope finally pardoned GG in 1992?

Pope John Paul II (2)

what happened to Giordano Bruno in 1600?

burned alive at the stake for claiming Earth orbited the Sun