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Copernicus Research Paper

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The Copernicus revolution set way to a major shift in how we see the universe. The previous understanding that the sun, moon and all other celestial objects in our solar system revolved around the sun went unchallenged for thirteen hundred years before Copernicus suggested a radically different way of thinking about the universe. Copernicus suggested that it was not the stars which seemed to be orbiting the earth but the earth itself that was moving. He suggested that the earth constantly rotated on its own axis every twenty four hours. It turns out the “movement of the heavens” (Russell par.6) had been one huge illusion caused by the constant moving of those that observed the night sky while studying our solar system. As controversial as this …show more content…

Aristarchus of Samos wrote a book which included several hypothesis that lead them to the outcome that the universe is immensely greater than what humans believed. Other hypothesis state that the sun among with fixed stars remain still, the Earth will continue to orbit the sun in a circular circumference, and that sphere of the unmoving stars is so significant that the circle in which the Earth is supposed to revolve in carries a great distance to the unmoving stars and the spheres center absorbs its surface. Aristarchus’ hypothesis increased the belief for there to be a distinguishable parallax with the unmoving stars common to one another as the Earth revolves around the sun. Scholars from all over the world could have come out with their farfetched theories and hypothesis sooner except that many were in the same position as Copernicus and were afraid of the condemnation, disapproval, scorn, and controversy they would receive from religious authority figures and religious scholars. After a couple generations had passed and Copernicus’ theory had become accepted worldwide, Copernicus had gained copious amounts of influential scholars that defended his theories in hopes to continue discovering more about the universe. Among these scholars was Galileo Galilei who served to improve the heliocentric model even further by using a telescope, which he created that made objects twenty times larger, to help him resolve lingering issues within the heliocentric model as well as discovering characteristics regarding the heavens that double as support for heliocentrism. Galileo’s discoveries didn’t stop there, he went on to discover moons orbiting Jupiter, the faults and shortcomings of the moons surface and spots on the sun. These discoveries helped diminish the previous understandings that all planets were unlike Earth that appeared as flawless orbs. Even though Galileo made countless world changing

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