From Geocentric to Heliocentric: How Discoveries Are Made

Description

Has anyone ever seen with their own eyes that the Earth goes around the sun? Even to this day, no one has. However, 500 and even 2000 years ago, some astronomers managed to point out that this is the case. At that time, people’s range of activities was strictly confined, the technology and tools used were extremely primitive, and many of the mathematical methods used today had not been developed. How did those astronomers make and verify this discovery? This book explains this exciting demonstration process. It enables anyone with a basic junior-high-school knowledge of geometry and a certain degree of spatial imagination to understand this and other interesting discoveries in the solar system. By demonstrating this interesting process, the book not only satisfies readers' curiosity using the simplest mathematics, but also inspires them to explore the new and unknown world. Preface Acknowledgements Summary Introduction Contents 1 The Milky Way with Bright Stars 1 The Sky Is Like a Dome Covering the Wild Land 2 The Sunrise and Sunset 3 Twinkling Stars 4 A Bright Moon 5 Unquiet Sky 6 Eyes and Mind Combined 2 The Motivation for Observing the Astronomical Phenomena at Night 1 The Urgent Needs of Daily Production and Life 2 Comprehending God’s Will 3 Just Out of Curiosity 3 Mysterious Whereabouts of the Sun, Moon and Stars 1 Where Do the Stars Hide? 2 Where on Earth Is the Sun? 3 Variations of the Moon 4 How Far Are They from Us? 4 Puzzling Earth 1 A Big Obstacle 2 The Earth Is Under Our Feet 3 How Big Is This Sphere? 5 Guess What the Universe Is Like 1 Who Can Guess What the Universe Is Like? 2 A Fire in the Center of the Universe 3 The Earth in the Center of the Universe 4 The Sun in the Center of the Universe 6 Geocentric System Prevailing for a Thousand Years 1 Magical Epicycle-Deferent System 2 Let the Earth Deviate Slightly from the Center 3 A Complete Geocentric Model 4 Questioning Ptolemy’s Geocentric System 7 Put the Sun in the Center of the Universe 1 New System Arrived on the Scene 2 Voice of Doubt 3 Totally Enlightened by One Move 8 Combination of the Two Major Systems 1 Eclectic Tychonic System 2 Bridge Between Two Major Systems 3 Can History Be Assumed? 9 Towards Victory 1 Sky Legislator—Kepler 2 “Columbus” of Sky—Galileo 3 Newton Standing on the Shoulders of Giants 4 Evidence of the Earth’s Revolution Epilogue Postscript Bibliography