Aristotelian

Mechanics
Objective:
At the end of the lesson,
you will be able to explain
what the Greeks
considered to be the three
types of terrestrial motion.
How do objects move? How do
moving objects stop from moving?
The Greek philosophers sought answers to
these questions about motion. Their ideas on
motion were significantly influenced by Aristotle, a
Greek philosopher and astronomer.
Ancient Greeks believed that the cosmos or
the universe was divided into two realms:
1. Celestial realm was perfect and circular.
They all revolved around Earth.
2. Terrestrial realm was unstable and
imperfect, and there should be a cause
for motion.
 Types of Terrestrial
Motion
According to Aristotelian
mechanics, there are three types
of motion:

1. natural motion
2. Voluntary motion, and
3. involuntary motion
1. Natural Motion
 objectstend to go back to their
natural state, which is based on the
element that composes them.
 Ancient Greek philosophers believed that all
things in the terrestrial realm were made out of
the four elements – air, earth, fire, and water.
Their natural motion is to go back to
their natural state depending on the element
that composed them. Their motion was either
upward or downward.
1. Natural Motion
 The
natural state of objects made of earth
was in the geosphere.
 For example, when a rock, an object made of the
element earth, was thrown upward, its tendency was to
go back to its natural state. Therefore, it would move
downward, towards the Earth’s center. On the other
hand, the natural state of objects made of air was in the
atmosphere. For example, the smoke from a flame would
move upward to go back to its natural state.
 Similarly,
the natural state of objects made of
water was in the hydrosphere while those
made of fire was in the thermosphere.
2. Voluntary Motion
 Accordingto Aristotle, voluntary
motion was an innate characteristic of
humans and animals. The cause of their
motion was in themselves because they
have the will to move.
3. Involuntary Motion
 Involuntary motion was the characteristic
motion of plants and minerals. They could
not move because they do not have the
will to do so. They could only move due to
mechanical forces.
Diurnal Motion,
Annual
Motion, and
Precession of
the Equinoxes
Objective
Atthe end of the lesson, you
should be able to explain
diurnal motion, annual
motion, and precession of the
equinoxes.
When you look at the night sky,
you will notice that stars appear
to be attached to an imaginary
spherical surface. This spherical
surface is known as the celestial
sphere whose center is the
Earth.

How do celestial bodies move

in the celestial sphere?
 The movement of
different celestial bodies
can be described as:
diurnalmotion,
annual motion, and
precession of the
equinoxes.
 Diurnal Motion
is the apparent daily
motion of the stars,
including the Sun as
seen from the Earth due
to the Earth’s rotation.
 Diurnal Motion
isthe apparent daily revolution of the
celestial sphere around the celestial
poles as a direct effect of the Earth’s
rotation on its axis. In other words, it
refers to the apparent movement of
stars and other celestial bodies
around Earth. The circular path that
the celestial bodies take to complete
the diurnal motion is called diurnal
circle.
The apparent motion of celestial
bodies viewed from Earth is east to
west. If you observe the night sky, the
stars seem to move in a counter-
clockwise direction (from east to
west) with respect to Polaris or North
Star. Similarly, the apparent daily
motion of the sun, which is the closest
star to Earth, is counter-clockwise. You
can observe that the sun rises in the
east and sets in the west.
Some stars, called circumpolar
stars, never seem to go away
from the horizon, or never set or
rise. The closer you get to the
poles, the larger the circle of
circumpolar stars is. On the other
hand, the nearer you get to the
equator, the circle of circumpolar
stars decreases until it vanishes at
the celestial poles.
Annual motion is the
apparent yearly motion
of the stars, including the
Sun as seen from the
Earth due to the Earth’s
revolution around the
Sun.
 Annual Motion
 Annual motion is the apparent yearly movement of the stars as
observed from Earth as a direct effect of the Earth’s revolution
around the sun.
 The sun revolves 360 degrees a year around a path on the celestial
sphere called the ecliptic. The sun moves eastward with respect to
the stars on the celestial sphere. It can be observed that the sun’s
altitude changes with season. Its altitude is at maximum during
summer solstice and at minimum during winter solstice. Also, sunrise
and sunset points in the horizon changes with season. The sun rises
north of east in the summer, and south of east in the winter.
 As the sun revolves around the ecliptic, different stars and
constellations appear on the horizon throughout the year. These
are known as the constellations of the Zodiac.

Precession of the
equinoxes is the
apparent motion of the
equinoxes along the
ecliptic as the Earth
wobbles.

 Precession of the Equinoxes
 As the sun revolves around the ecliptic, it intersects
the celestial equator twice during a year at two
points. These points are called the equinoxes: vernal
and autumnal. During an equinox, the length of
daytime is almost equal to the length of nighttime.
Vernal or spring equinox happens every March 20
while autumnal equinox occurs every September 22.
The gravitational force of the sun and the moon on
Earth causes the cyclic precession or “wobbling” of
the Earth’s axis of rotation.
 Precession of the equinoxes is the apparent motion
of the equinoxes along the ecliptic as Earth
‘wobbles,’ and this motion happens about every 26
000 years. At present, Earth’s North Pole points to
Polaris. However, it will eventually point to another
star, Vega, because of precession.
 What do you think?
 How did astronomers know that the Earth
is spherical?
How the
Greeks
Knew That
the Earth Is
Spherical
How did the Greeks
Knew That the Earth Is
Spherical?
Objective
At the end of the
lesson, you will be able
to explain how the
Greeks knew that the
Earth is spherical.
The shape of the Earth
is oblate spheroid. It has
bulging equator and
squeezed poles.

Have you ever wondered

what the early philosophers
thought about the shape of
the Earth?
 Around 500 B.C., most Greeks believed that the
Earth was round, not flat. It was Pythagoras and
his pupils who were first to propose a spherical
Earth.
 In 500 to 430 B.C., Anaxagoras further supported
Pythagoras' proposal through his observations of
the shadows that the Earth cast on the Moon
during a lunar eclipse. He observed that during a
lunar eclipse, the Earth's shadow was reflected on
the Moon's surface. The shadow reflected
was circular.
 Around 340 B.C., Aristotle listed several arguments
for a spherical Earth which included the positions
of the North star, the shape of the Moon and the
Sun, and the disappearance of the ships when
they sail over the horizon.
1. North Star
The North Star was believed to be at a fixed position
in the sky. However, when the Greeks traveled to
places nearer the equator, like Egypt, they noticed
that the North Star is closer to the horizon.
2. The Shape of the Sun and the Moon
Aristotle argued that if the Moon and the Sun were
both spherical, then perhaps, the Earth was also
spherical.
3. Disappearing Ships
If the Earth was flat, then a ship traveling away from
an observer should become smaller and smaller until
it disappeared. However, the Greeks observed that
the ship became smaller and then its hull
disappeared first before the sail as if it was being
enveloped by the water until it completely
disappeared.
The Size of the Spherical Earth
 Ancient scholars tried to provide proof of a
spherical Earth and its circumference through
calculations. It was Eratosthenes who gave the
most accurate size during their time. While he was
working at the Library of Alexandria in Northern
Egypt, he received correspondence from Syene
in Southern Egypt which stated that a vertical
object did not cast any shadow at noontime
during the summer solstice. But this was not the
case in Alexandria where, at noon time during
the summer solstice, a vertical object still casts a
shadow. These observations could only mean
that the Sun, during this time in Alexandria, was
not directly overhead.
 Eratosthenes then determined the angle the
Sun made with the vertical direction by
measuring the shadow that a vertical stick
cast. He found out that in Alexandria, the Sun
makes an angle of 7.2° from the vertical while
0° in Syene. To explain the difference, he
hypothesized that the light rays coming from
the sun are parallel, and the Earth is curved.

 From his measurements, he computed the

circumference of the Earth to be
approximately 250 000 stadia (a stadium is a
unit of measurement used to describe the size
of a typical stadium at the time), about 40 000
kilometers.
 The following observations led
the Greeks to conclude that
the Earth is sphere:
1. The Earth casts a circular shadow on the Moon
during a lunar eclipse.
2. The North Star has different positions depending on
the location of the observer.
3. The Moon and the Sun are both spherical.
4. A sailing ship becomes smaller and then its hull
disappears first before the sail as if it is being
enveloped by the water until it completely
disappears.
5. The angle of the Sun with the vertical direction at
noon time during a summer solstice varies from
place to place.
How Plato's
Problem of
"Saving the
Appearances"
Constrained
Greek Models
of the Universe
Objectives
Atthe end of the lesson,
you should be able to
explain how Plato’s
problem in “saving the
appearances”
constrained Greek
models of the universe.
Greeks' Notion on the Movement of
Planets
In Greek Astronomy, the philosophers
favored a broader approach when it comes
to theories on the movement of planets.
Greeks were able to formulate a scheme of
planetary motion based on the present
observations that they account that time.
The two most notable principles of Greek
philosophers in describing the motion of the
stars, the sun, and the planets include the
theory of planetary motion and the apparent
motion of the planets.
 The theory of planetary motion assumed that
the planets must move ‘perfectly’ in a circular
motion.
In the same way, the Greeks believed that
the apparent motion of the planets were based on
the uniformity of their behavior as move on their
orbits, without considering the irregularities in their
movement.
For example, in the celestial sphere, the stars
appear to rotate uniformly, from east to west, until
they return back to their starting point. From these
ideas, Plato posed an important question to his
students that revolved in the two main principles of
the Greek philosophers.
 Plato’s ‘Saving the Appearances’
Before he posed his question, Plato first cited his
observations about the stars and the planets. He
explained that the stars appear to move around
the earth in a 'perfect' path. However, he
described that some of the ‘stars’ appear to
'wander' across the sky, giving irregular figures
throughout the year.
He accounted the 'wandering stars'
as planets and that they move in a uniform and
orderly manner in circles or in combinations of
circles. Finally, he asked his students on how can
they explain all these observations about the
planetary motion and ‘save the appearances’ (in
today's term, 'fit the observations with the data').
 He posed the question because the
observations about the planetary
motion and the apparent motions of the
planets did not seem to coincide with
each other. Given that the planets
move in a perfect path or in a uniform
circular motion, there were still apparent
irregular motions of the planets or
planets that still 'wander' across the sky.
Plato’s question was not meant for
him to answer but instead, it became
the goal of astronomers and
philosophers.
The Aristotelian System
Aristotle believed that all matter consists of a
mixture of four elements: earth, water, air, and fire.
Each of these elements has a tendency to
reach its ‘natural place’. However, these elements
are only present in terrestrial objects.
In the case of the celestial bodies, a fifth
element called aether, was the reason why the
heavens were created. The aether has its own
motion based on its nature: pure and absolute. Its
motion has no end and no beginning; thus, its
natural place is a circular motion.
However, the Earth was an exception. It
cannot have the circular motion of the aether
due to its nature, which was primarily composed
of the element earth.
The Aristotelian System
Based on this philosophy, Aristotle
devised a system to explain the uniform
and ordered movement of the celestial
bodies. In his system, the stars were
embedded outside the largest sphere
where the “prime mover” is found.
The prime mover keeps the stars
moving in a constant motion, causing a
friction to the smaller spheres of the outer
planets and the spheres where the sun and
the inner planets were located.
 Aristotle, however, was not able to explain the
apparent motion of celestial bodies. Using his system, he
was not able to explain why the sun, the moon, Venus,
and Jupiter seemed brighter, closer or farther from the
Earth at times. A set of uniform motions of the celestial
bodies around the Earth means that these bodies cannot
change their distance from the Earth.
 The Heliocentric Theory
It was Aristarchus of Samus who first
suggested a system that puts the sun at
the center of the universe, where the
moon, the earth, and the five planets,
revolved around the sun in different
sizes of orbits at different speeds.
However, there were serious flaws that
the ancient people saw in his system.
 The Heliocentric Theory
 First,Aristarchus violated their philosophical
doctrines:
 the Earth is immobile and its natural place is at the center of
the universe, and
 the position of the sun is differentiated from the celestial
bodies.
 Second, he was not able to provide mathematical
computations and predictions of the celestial paths.
 Finally, the Greek thinkers refuted Aristarchus idea by creative
reasoning. They posed a scenario that if the earth moves
around the sun, the large orbit of the earth will carry itself closer
or farther to a certain fixed star in the celestial sphere. Thus, the
angle at which the star is viewed will be different with the
different points as observed in the earth annually (known today
as the annual parallax).
With all these flaws, the
heliocentric theory of
Aristarchus was disregarded
by the Greek thinkers.
The Modified Geocentric Model
 Apollonius, Hipparchus, and an influential astronomer, Claudius
Ptolemy modified the geocentric theory to answer the question
posed by Plato that had not been answered by the previous
geocentric theory. This modified theory states that:
 The celestial bodies move in an eccentric path if these
bodies do not move around in a uniform circular motion
around the stationary earth.
 The celestial bodies, such as the sun or a certain planet, have
two uniform circular motions, as depicted with a small circle
(epicycle) and a larger circle (deferent) which take different
speeds and direction. The reversal in the direction of motion
is called retrograde motion. During this motion, the planets
appear brighter because it is closer to the earth.
 However, with all these modifications in the previous geocentric
theory, this modified theory still failed to answer the question
posed by Plato.
The Ptolemaic System
 Of all the theories, systems, and ideas that had been
laid down to answer Plato's question, Claudius
Ptolemy was the only one who was able to answer
Plato's question. He still made a few modifications of
the modified geocentric theory and was able to
explain about the planetary motion and the apparent
motion of the planets.
 This theory gave an accurate description of what could be
observed given the instruments they use and was based
on the Greeks' philosophical and physical doctrine
regarding nature and the celestial bodies.
 However, the success of this theory in answering Plato's
"saving the appearances" had been displaced with
the heliocentric theory, which is up to now, has been
the accepted model of the universe.
 The two most notable principles of Greek philosophers in
describing the motion of the stars, sun, and planets
include the theory of planetary motion and the
apparent motion of the planets.
 From these ideas, Plato posed an important question to
his students that revolved in the two main principles of
the Greek philosophers.
 He explained that the stars, given that they are
unchanging bodies, appear to move around the earth
in a perfect path.
 He described that some of the ‘stars’ appear to wander
across the sky, giving irregular figures throughout the
year. He accounted them as planets and defined that
these planets move in a uniform and orderly manner in
circles or combination of circles.
 He asked his students on how can they explain all these
observations in the planetary motion and ‘save the
appearances’ (in today's term, 'fit the data').
The Models of
the Universe:
Eudoxus,
Aristotle,
Aristarchus,
Ptolemy, and
Copernicus
 Objective
At the end of the lesson,
you will be able to compare
and contrast the models of the
universe by Eudoxus, Aristotle,
Aristarchus, Ptolemy, and
Copernicus.
Eudoxus’ Model
Eudoxus of Cnidus, a Greek astronomer
and mathematician, was the first to propose
a model of the universe based on geometry.
His model composed of 27 concentric
spheres with Earth as the center. The Sun, the
Moon, the planets, and the fixed stars have
spheres. Each sphere is attached to a larger
sphere through a pole. The rotation of the
spheres on their poles once every 24 hours
accounts for the daily rotation of the
heavens. It is unclear whether Eudoxus
regarded these spheres as physical entities or
just mathematical constructions.
Aristotle’s Model
Aristotle, a Greek philosopher and
astronomer, considered the model proposed by
Eudoxus, but he considered these spheres as
physical entities. He thought that these spheres
were filled with the divine and eternal “ether” that
caused the spheres to move. He introduced
the Prime Mover, as the cause of the movement
of the spheres. His model composed of 56 spheres
that guided the motion of the Sun, the Moon, and
five known planets. As the spheres move, they
maintained the same distance from the Earth.
Also, they moved at constant speeds.
Aristarchus' Model
Aristarchus of Samos (born c. 310 B.C.), a
Greek astronomer and mathematician, was
the first to hypothesize that the Sun is the
center of the universe. He visualized that the
Moon orbits around a spherical Earth which
then revolves around the Sun. He believed
that the stars are very far away from the Earth
as evidenced by the absence of stellar
parallax – that is, the stars do not change
positions relative to each other as the Earth
revolves around the Sun.
Aristarchus' Model
Through geometrical models and
mathematical computations, he
concluded that the Sun is 20 times
farther from the Earth than the Moon is
to the Earth; the Earth is about three
times larger than the Moon; and the
Sun is 20 times larger than the Moon. He
also reasoned out that smaller spheres
orbit around larger ones. Thus, the
Moon orbits around the Earth, and the
Earth orbits around the Sun.
Ptolemy’s Model
The Sun, Moon, stars, and planets
were believed to move in a uniform
circular motion – the “perfect” motion
assigned to celestial bodies by the
ancient Greeks. However, observations
showed otherwise. The paths of the
celestial bodies are not circular, and
they vary in distances. Babylonians
even showed that some planets exhibit
a retrograde motion – a motion
opposite to that of other planets.
Ptolemy’s Model
To explain “imperfect motions” of
heavenly bodies, Claudius Ptolemy (born c.
90 A.D.), a Greco-Egyptian astronomer and
mathematician, proposed his own
geocentric (Earth-centered) model of the
universe. He accounted for the apparent
motions of the planets around the Earth by
assuming that each planet moved around a
sphere called an epicycle. The center of the
epicycle then moved on a larger sphere
called a deferent.
The Ptolemaic System
1. A planet moves counter-clockwise
around the epicycle.
2. The epicycle’s center also moves
counter-clockwise around the center of
the deferent (indicated by the + sign in
the image).
3. The center of the epicycle moves around
the equant with a uniform speed.
4. The Earth is not exactly at the center of
the deferent, or it is eccentric (off the
center). This explains why, as observed
from the Earth, the Sun or a planet moves
slowest when it is farthest from the Earth
and moves fastest when it is nearest the
Earth.
5. The motion of the planet can be
described by points 1-7 in the figure
below. At point 4, the planet moves in a
retrograde (clockwise) motion. The
planet is brightest at this point because it
is closest to the Earth.
Copernicus' Model
 In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus, a Renaissance mathematician and
astronomer born in Poland, ended the geocentric astronomy era
by publishing his work On the Revolutions of the Heavenly
Spheres wherein he explained that the Sun, not the Earth, is the
center of the universe.
 In his work, he reiterated the ancient Greek concept that the
motion of spherical heavenly bodies is uniform, eternal, and
circular. He then reasoned that because Earth is spherical, then
its motion is circular. He added that the Earth has three different
motions: daily rotation on its axis, yearly motion around the Sun,
and the precession, or change in orientation, of its axis every 26
000 years.
 He also proposed that the fixed stars are immovable. Their
apparent movement is a consequence of the Earth’s rotation.
These stars are at immeasurable distances from the Earth, so
there is no observable parallax.
 By placing the Sun at the center of the universe and the orbits of
Mercury and Venus in between the Sun and the Earth,
Copernicus’ model was able to account for the changes in the
appearances of these planets and their retrograde motions. The
need for epicycles in explaining motions was eliminated.
In summary:
 Eudoxus’, Aristotle’s, and Ptolemy’s models have the
Earth as the center of the universe while Aristarchus’
and Copernicus’ models have the Sun as the center.
 Eudoxus’ model has 27 concentric spheres for the Sun,
Moon, planets, and the stars whose common center is
the Earth.
 Aristotle’s model of the universe is composed of 56
spheres guiding the motion of Sun, Moon and the five
known planets.
 Aristarchus said that smaller celestial bodies must orbit
the larger ones and since the Sun is much larger than
the Earth, then the Earth must orbit around the Sun.
 Ptolemaic model introduced the concepts of epicycle,
deferent, and equant to explain the observed
“imperfect” motions of the planets.
 Copernicus’ model recognized that the Earth rotates
on its axis, revolves around the Sun, and undergoes
precession.
 Astronomical
Phenomena Known
to Astronomers
before the Advent of
Telescopes
 Objective
 At the end of the lesson, you will be able
to cite examples of astronomical
phenomena known to astronomers
before the advent of telescopes.
 Which planets are easily seen in the sky
without the aid of telescopes?
 Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are easily seen in the sky without the
aid of telescopes. These planets can be easily confused with stars and are
only seen at specific times of the day. The best time to look for these planets
would be before sunrise and after sunset.
 Even before the invention of the telescope, ancient people have already
observed different astronomical phenomena. The most observable objects in
the sky are the sun and moon.
 Babylonian and Egyptian civilizations used a primitive version of a sundial,
called gnomon, in systematically observing the motion of the sun. By looking
at the shadows that the gnomon casts, they were able to observe that the
sun rises in the eastern part of the sky, reaches its highest point in midday, and
sets in the western part of the sky.
 Also, they recorded that the points where the sun rises and sets on the horizon
varies over a year and these variations happen periodically. They observed
that these variations are related to weather and so concluded that seasonal
changes in climate happen during a course of one year.
Phases of the Moon
Galileo's
Astronomical
Discoveries
Objective
Atthe end of this lesson,
you should be able to
explain how Galileo’s
astronomical discoveries
disprove Greek beliefs of
the universe.
 Galileo Galilei, a Renaissance Italian
astronomer, used the telescope to observe
the cosmos and his discoveries provided
evidence to prove or disprove existing
Greek beliefs and models of the universe.
Galileo’s Astronomical Discoveries and
Observations
The Ptolemaic Model of the Universe
proposed by a Greco-Egyptian
astronomer Claudius Ptolemy posed that
the Earth is stationary and is the center of
the universe and that the stars, planets, and
the Sun revolve around it.
Phases of Venus
The Ptolemaic model believed that
the Earth was stationary and all the
others including the stars, planets, and
the Sun are revolving around it.

Galileo observed that the brightest

planet, Venus, as seen from Earth,
behaved similarly like the Moon. He
noticed that Venus has a systematic
change in shadows and lighting, just
like the lunar phases.
 Galileo observed that Venus is in its “new phase” when it
is in between the Earth and the Sun and waxes as it moves in its
orbit. During this phase, we cannot see Venus because no light
from the Sun is reflected towards us. Venus is in its “full phase”
when the Sun is in between Venus and Earth. It is still not visible
from Earth because the Sun is blocking it. Through these
observations, Galileo disproved that the other planets revolve
around the Earth.
Moons of Jupiter
 Priorto the use of telescopes, the satellites or
moons of Jupiter were unknown. When Galileo
observed Jupiter, he noticed that there were
planet-like bodies close to it. He first noted that
there were four bodies moving around Jupiter.
After some time, one of them disappeared and
“hid” behind Jupiter. He later named the
bodies or satellites as Io, Callisto, Ganymede,
and Europa.
 The discovery of the moons of Jupiter disproved
Ptolemaic Model by showing that not
everything revolves around the Earth.
 Supernovas
 BeforeGalileo concretized the concept of
supernovas, scientists have already observed
new stars appearing in the sky. These stars are
called stellar nova or new stars. In
1604, Johannes Kepler, a German astronomer,
observed a nova in Prague. This nova was
called a supernova because the nova exuded
enormous amount of light in just a short period
indicating that it was exploding. It was also
labelled as Kepler’s nova.
 Supernovas
 At the time, Kepler was working as a mathematician at
Imperial court and as Galileo was also a
mathematician, they were able to compare their data
of their observations of the said nova all over Europe.
They measured the parallax of the nova from different
locations. A parallax is the angle that can be measured
when an observer looks at the same object from
different locations. The greater the distance between
the two locations, the greater the parallax and the
closer the object is to the observer, the greater the
parallax. Galileo and Kepler’s sets of data showed that
there were no measurable parallax for the nova and
the fixed stars which means that they were at
immeasurable distances from the Earth even farther
than the moon. These observations were able to show
that the sky is changing.
Sizes of the Stars
 Ancient Greek philosophers, led by Aristotle, believed
that the sky was perfect and unchanging. Also, the
Ptolemaic model states that since everything revolves
around the Earth, the stars’ distance from the Earth
would not change and they should be located at
specific positions as seen from the Earth.
Given that the Earth is moving, the stars should
appear to vary in sizes. However, Galileo noticed that
“fixed stars” did not change in size when observed with
the naked eye and observed through a telescope. He
then postulated that if the stars have significant and
immeasurable distances from the Earth, then their size as
observed from the Earth should remain constant. He was
able to prove this through his observations of the
supernova in 1604.
 Lunar Craters
Ancient Greeks assumed that the moon had a
smooth surface.
 Galileo discovered that the surface of the moon was
uneven and rough. He also observed that it had high
points (mountains and hills) and low points (trenches
and ditches).

Sunspots
Greek philosophers have expressed the Sun as a
source of light, but no other information about it is
available at the time.
 Observers back then just thought that the spots found
on the Sun are planets. Galileo clarified this idea. He
observed the movement of the sunspots and noticed
that one spot took approximately 14 days to travel from
one side to the other while maintaining its constant
speed. From these observations, he was able to deduce
that the Sun also rotates on an axis.
In summary:
 The Ptolemaic Model of the Universe posed that the
Earth is stationary, the center of the universe, and that
the stars, planets, and the Sun revolve around it.
 Galileo’s astronomical observations helped weaken
the Ptolemaic model by showing that the stars,
planets, and the Sun do not revolve around the
Earththrough his observations of the phases of Venus,
and the moons of Jupiter.
 He showed that the Earth is not stationary through his
observations of the sizes of the stars showing that
they appear to have identical size because of the
movement of the Earth and their immeasurable
distance from the Earth.
 Galileo disproved the belief that the sky, the Moon and
the Sun are perfect and unchanging by showing his
observations of the supernova, lunar craters,
and sunspots.
Johannes
Kepler's
Discoveries from
Tycho Brahe's
Collection of
Astronomical
Data
Objective:
Atthe end of the lesson, you
should be able to explain
how Brahe’s innovations and
extensive collection of data in
observational astronomy
paved the way for Kepler’s
discovery of his laws of
planetary motion.
 Tycho Brahe
 Tycho Brahe was a Danish astronomer
and nobleman who made accurate
observations of the movement of
celestial bodies in an observatory built for
him by King Frederick II of Denmark in
1576.
 He was able to invent different
astronomical instruments, with the help of
his assistants, and made an extensive
study of the solar system. He was able to
determine the position of 777 fixed stars
accurately.
Johannes Kepler
 When King Frederick II died, and the
successor did not fully support Brahe’s
work, he moved to Prague in 1599 where
he was supported by Emperor Rudolf II and
worked as an imperial mathematician.
Emperor Rudolf II recommended Johannes
Kepler to work for him as an assistant.
Kepler was born to a poor German family
and studied as a scholar at the University of
Tübingen in 1589.
 Brahe and Kepler's Work
 Brahe and Kepler had an unsteady working
relationship. Kepler was Brahe's assistant. However,
Brahe mistrusted Kepler with his astronomical data
in fear of being shadowed by his assistant.
 Brahe assigned to Kepler the interpretation of his
observations of Mars, whose movement did not
match Brahe’s calculations. Kepler was tasked to
figure out what path Mars followed as it revolved
around the Sun. It was believed by many scientists
that Brahe gave this task to Kepler to keep him
occupied and left Brahe to develop his laws of
planetary motion.
 Brahe and Kepler's Work
 Brahe and Kepler had an unsteady working
relationship. Kepler was Brahe's assistant.
However, Brahe mistrusted Kepler with his
astronomical data in fear of being shadowed
by his assistant.
 Brahe assigned to Kepler the interpretation of
his observations of Mars, whose movement did
not match Brahe’s calculations. Kepler was
tasked to figure out what path Mars followed
as it revolved around the Sun. It was believed
by many scientists that Brahe gave this task to
Kepler to keep him occupied and left Brahe to
develop his laws of planetary motion.
 Kepler's Discoveries from Brahe's Data
 Kepler postulated that there must be a force from
the Sun that moves the planets. He was able to
conclude that this force would explain the orbit of
Mars and the Earth, including all the other planets,
moved fastest when it is nearest from the Sun and
moved slowest when it is farthest from the Sun.
 Eventually, Brahe decided to give all his data to
Kepler hoping that he would be able to prove his
Tychonic system and put together new tables of
astronomical data. This table was known
as Rudolphine Tables, named after the Roman
emperor and was useful in determining the positions
of the planets for the past 1000 years and the future
1000 years. This table was the most accurate table
that is known to the astronomical world.
 AfterBrahe died in 1601, Emperor Rudolf II
assigned Kepler as the new imperial
mathematician, and all of Brahe’s writings,
instruments, and the Rudolphine tables
were passed on to him. From Brahe’s data,
Kepler was able to formulate his laws of
planetary motion: the law of ellipses, the
law of equal areas, and the law of
harmonies.
Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion
1. The Law of Ellipses
When Kepler tried to figure out Mars’ orbit, it did
not fit the then-famous theory that a planet follows a
circular path. He then postulated that instead of a
circular path, planets follow an oval or an ellipse orbit.

This orbit matched his calculations

and explained the “irregularities”
in the movement of Mars. He was
able to formulate his first law of
planetary motion, the law of
ellipses which describes that the
actual path followed by the
planets was elliptical, not circular,
with the Sun at one focus of the
ellipse.
Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion
2. The Law of Equal Areas- states that when an
imaginary line is drawn from the center of the Sun to
the center of a planet, the line will sweep out an
equal area of space in equal time intervals.

The law describes

how fast a planet moves in
its orbit. A planet moves
fastest when it is nearest the
Sun and slowest when it is
farthest from the Sun, and
still, the same area is swept
out by the line in equal
amounts of time.
Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion
3. The Law of Harmonies
 The law of harmonies, which is the third law, describes
that the square of a planet’s orbital period (T2) is
proportional to the cube of a planet’s average
distance from the Sun (R3). It states that that the ratio
of the squares of the periods of two planets is equal
to the ratio of the cubes of the average distances of
these two planets from the Sun or:

2T /2T =3R /3R

1 2 1 2

where the subscript 1 indicates planet 1 and

subscript 2 indicates planet 2.
In summary…
 Tycho Brahe was a Danish astronomer and nobleman who
made accurate observations of the movement of celestial
bodies.
 Johannes Kepler was a German astronomer and
mathematician who worked as an assistant to Brahe and
formulated the three laws of planetary motion based on
Brahe’s extensive astronomical data.
1. The Law of Ellipses which states that planets follow an elliptical
orbit.
2. The Law of Equal Areas states that when an imaginary line is
drawn from the center of a planet to the center of the Sun, an
equal amount of space is swept in equal amount of time.
3. The Law of Harmonies states that the ratio of the squares of the
period of two planets is equal to the ratio of the cubes of the
planets’ average distance from the Sun.