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450 BCE
Pythagorean Paradigm contradicts astronomical beliefs
This states that all objects move in perfect circles, Speed of heavenly bodies is uniform, Earth is the exact center of the universe -
400 BCE
Plato Makes Astronomical Breakthroughs
He believed in the absolute truths, but mathematics was the key. He tried to contradict the Pythagorean Paradigm and give order to the pattern of the stars and visible planets. He particularly tried to explain retrograde motion, which is when an object changes speed and appears to change direction. -
350 BCE
Aristotle Makes REAL Breakthrough
Aristotle proved that Earth was a sphere. He still stood by the geocentric model of the solar system, but believed that Earth was surrounded by 5 spheres on which celestial bodies moved. There was still no address of retrograde motion. -
90
Ptolemy Pitches In
Proposed that epicycles (circular orbits on spheres) to explain retrograde motion. -
1500
Renaissance Scientific Postulate:
The guiding principle to most astronomical studies was that "the best model or solution is the simplest" -
1500
Copernicus Makes Corrections
His studies brought many of the problems with Ptolemy's model into the light. This was the adoption of the heliocentric model of the solar system. This model estimated the distance between the sun and the earth and also explained retrograde motion. -
1550
Tyro Brahe "Goes Out of This World"
Tycho Brahe's observations described the motion of other planets and explained that they ALL revolved around the sun. In order to appease the church and not get executed, he theorized that Earth was stationary. -
1575
Galileo Makes Leaps
Galileo Galilee was the first person to build and use a telescope. This gave him a point of view that extended beyond mathematics. He discovered the moons of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, the phases of Venus, and was placed under house arrest as punishment for his religion-defying heliocentric model. -
Kepler and His 3 Laws
Johnnes Kepler used Brahe's observation to develop 3 universal laws of planetary motion. Which are: All planets move around the sun in an elliptical orbit, a radius vector joining any planet to the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal lengths of time, and the squares of the sidereal periods (of revolution) of the planets are directly proportional to the cubes of their mean distances from the sun. https://www.britannica.com/science/Keplers-laws-of-planetary-motion -
The Moon Landing
Arnold Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins blasted off on July 16, 1969 and were successfully named the first men on the moon as a part of the mission known as Apollo 11.
