Copernican heliocentrism

(noun)

The name given to the astronomical model developed by Nicolaus Copernicus and published in 1543. It positioned the Sun near the center of the Universe, motionless, with Earth and the other planets rotating around it in circular paths modified by epicycles and at uniform speeds. It departed from the Ptolemaic system that prevailed in Western culture for centuries, placing Earth at the center of the Universe.

Related Terms

Examples of Copernican heliocentrism in the following topics:

  • Astronomy

    • Copernican heliocentrism is the name given to the astronomical model developed by Nicolaus Copernicus and published in 1543.
    • The Copernican model departed from the Ptolemaic system that prevailed in Western culture for centuries, placing Earth at the center of the Universe.
    • From 1543 until about 1700, few astronomers were convinced by the Copernican system.
    • The book argued heliocentrism and ellipses for planetary orbits instead of circles modified by epicycles.
    • While contradicting Aristotelian belief, it supported Copernican cosmology which stated that Earth is a planet like all others.

  • Foundations of "Science"

    • Before the Copernican Revolution, a common belief was that the Earth was a stationary center of the universe.
    • The Copernican or heliocentric view gained dominance.
    • Galileo [1564-1642] verified the Copernican system with a new technology (the telescope).

  • Physics and Mathematics

    • The book proposed a heliocentric system contrary to the widely accepted geocentric system of that time.
    • The discovery of the phases of Venus was one of the more influential reasons for the transition from geocentrism to heliocentrism.
    • Isaac Newton's Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica concluded the Copernican Revolution.
    • By deriving Kepler's laws of planetary motion from his mathematical description of gravity, and then using the same principles to account for the trajectories of comets, the tides, the precession of the equinoxes, and other phenomena, Newton removed the last doubts about the validity of the heliocentric model of the cosmos.

  • Roots of the Scientific Revolution

    • The heliocentric model that involved the radical displacement of the earth to an orbit around the sun (as opposed to being seen as the center of the universe).
    • Copernicus' 1543 work on the heliocentric model of the solar system tried to demonstrate that the sun was the center of the universe.
    • By deriving Kepler's laws of planetary motion from his mathematical description of gravity, and then using the same principles to account for the trajectories of comets, the tides, the precession of the equinoxes, and other phenomena, Newton removed the last doubts about the validity of the heliocentric model of the cosmos.

  • Mannerist Painting

    • In past analyses, it has been noted that Mannerism arose in the early 16th century alongside a number of other social, scientific, religious and political movements such as the Copernican model, the Sack of Rome, and the Protestant Reformation's increasing challenge to the power of the Catholic Church.

  • Kepler's First Law

    • Heliocentric coordinate system $(r, \theta)$ for ellipse.

  • Scientific Advancements in the Classical Period

    • In the 3rd century BCE, Aristarchus of Samos was the first to suggest a heliocentric system.

  • Babylonian Culture

    • The Babylonian astronomer Seleucus of Seleucia (b. 190 BCE) supported a heliocentric model of planetary motion.