THE MODELS OF THE UNIVERSE: EXODUS, ARISTOTLE, ARISTARCHUS,

PTOLEMY AND COPERNICUS
Aristarchus
A HELIOCENTRIC UNIVERSE WAS HYPOTHESIZED BY ONE OF THE
PYTHAGOREANS, ARISTARCHUS OF SAMOS (C. 310–230 BC), WHICH IS
INTERESTING BECAUSE MOST CLASSICAL MODELS WERE VARIATIONS
ON GEOCENTRIC MODELS. WE ARE FAMILIAR WITH HIS MODEL
TODAY AS A PLAUSIBLE EXPLANATION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM. ALL OF
THE PLANETS, INCLUDING THE EARTH, HAD CIRCULAR ORBITS
AROUND A CONSTANT SUN. THE MOON REVOLVED AROUND THE
EARTH, WHICH ROTATED ONCE PER DAY.

In Aristarchus’ heliocentric model all the planets orbit

the Sun along circular paths. The Moon orbits the
Earth which in turn spins on its axis.
Aristarchus had underestimated the distance of the earth
from the Sun thus the size of possible parallax was
overestimated.
Credit: R. Hollow, CSIRO

Aristarchus of Samos was an ancient Greek

astronomer and mathematician 

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Aristotle
Aristotle’s own model of the Universe was a development of that of Eudoxus who had also studied under Plato. It had
a series of 53 concentric, crystalline, transparent spheres rotating on different axes. Each sphere was centered on a
stationary Earth so the model was both geocentric and homocentric. Stars were fixed on the outer sphere. The Moon
marked the boundary between the unchanging, constant heavens and the corruptible Earth. According to Aristotelian
cosmology it was only within the sub-lunary sphere, that is between the Earth and Moon, that changeable
phenomena such as comets could exist.

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Aristotle - one of greatest Greek thinkers in the

history of western science and philosophy.

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Exodus
Eudoxos of Knidos was born approximately 395-390 BCE and lived 53 years. A polymath, he made important
contributions to geography, metaphysics, and ethics. However, his most important work was in geometry, the theory
of proportion, and astronomy. Our principal sources for his astronomy are Aristotle, Aratus (3rd cent. BCE),
Hipparchus (2nd cent. BCE), and Simplicius (6th cent. CE), although the last is our principal source for his
astronomical models. The first to present a general, geometrical model of celestial motion, Eudoxos started with five
basic principles.

1.The earth is the center of the universe.

2.All celestial motion is circular.All celestial motion is regular.
3.The center of the path of any celestial motion is the same as the center of its motion.
4.The center of all celestial motion is the center of the universe.
Since the apparent motion of all celestial bodies is neither circular nor regular, though it is about the earth, Eudoxos
needed to construct models that preserved the five principles and the appearances. This means constructing the
apparent motions as combinations of circular motions, the basic idea behind most subsequent Greek mathematical
astronomy and the basis of mathematical astronomy from Ptolemy up to Kepler.

5.The apparent irregular and non-circular motions of celestial bodies is a result of the combinations of real, circular
motions that satisfy principles (1) – (5). In other words, the models must preserve or save the phenomena.

Earth is not the central of the universe

Einstein discovered that in the Universe there is no center, or universal rest-

frame, and hence there is no center in the Universe at all. This, on the other
hand, actually means that every single point in space is equally worthy of
calling “Center of the Universe”. You can choose Earth, the Sun, Mars, your
school, your house, whatever. But if you want to mathematically describe the
motions of planets, it is by far the most comprehensive to select the Sun as
the center. The Center of The Solar System, that is. If we go further out into
space, and want to understand and describe a larger piece of the Universe, it
is convenient to select the center of the Milky Way Galaxy as the center of
things. Further out, we talk about the Virgo Cluster of galaxies, which is not
centered around any specific galaxy but a nondescript point in space. And on
and on.