Celestial Mechanics: The Overthrow of Ptolemy

    Five names are associated with the overthrow of the Ptolemaic system, in a period spanning 300 years

  • Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543): Theory of circular motion, with the Sun at center, a Heliocentric Model (De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium, 1543).

  • Tycho Brahe (1546-1601): Observations of planetary positions to "high accuracy". Observations of comets call into question the reality of cystalline spheres.

  • Johannes Kepler (1571-1630): Mathematical analysis of Tycho’s data. "Three Laws of Planetary Motion" provide concise description of planetary motion.

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