ASTRO-110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 31: Scientific Theory, Scientific Modelling, Copernican Revolution
22 Sep 2020
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Document Summary
The story of the origin of modern science. Stated that the ptolemaic model was inaccurate. Belief that heavenly motion must occur in perfect circles. Observed a widely anticipated alignment of jupiter and saturn. Observed what he called a nova meaning new star . Built an unparalleled observatory for naked eye observations. Convinced that planets must orbit the sun. Found a set of circular orbits that matched most of tycho"s observations. Key discovery: planetary orbits are not circles but a special type called ellipses. Composed of two foci and a semi major axis. The length of the semi major axis is very important. Variance of the orbits eccentricity describes how much an ellipse is stretched. (1): the orbit of each planet about the sun is an ellipse with the sun at one focus its closest point is called perihelion, and its farthest at the point called aphelion.
