Origin of Modern

Astronomy
 Early Astronomy
Ancient Greeks
 Astronomy is the science that studies the
universe. It includes the observation and
interpretation of celestial bodies and
phenomena.
 The Greeks used philosophical arguments
to explain natural phenomena.
 The Greeks also used some observational
data.
 Early Astronomy
Ancient Greeks
 Geocentric Model = Ptolemy Greek Astronomer
• In the ancient Greeks’ geocentric model, the
moon, sun, and the known planets—Mercury,
Venus, Mars, and Jupiter—orbit Earth.

 Heliocentric Model = Nicolaus Copernicus

• In the heliocentric model, Earth and the other
planets orbit the sun.
 Early Astronomy
Ancient Greeks
 Ptolemaic System
• Ptolemy created a model of the universe that
accounted for the movement of the planets.
• Retrograde motion is the apparent westward
motion of the planets with respect to the stars.

March Feb. Jan. Dec.

April
Sept. May June

Aug. July Retrograde

motion of Mars
East West
Retrograde Motion
99 Years of Astronomy
 Early Astronomy
The Birth of Modern Astronomy
 Nicolaus Copernicus
• Copernicus concluded that Earth is a planet. He
proposed a model of the solar system with the sun at
the center. Heliocentric Model

This model explained the retrograde motion of

planets better than the geocentric model.
 Early Astronomy

The Birth of Modern Astronomy

 Tycho Brahe
• Tycho Brahe designed and built instruments to
measure the locations of the heavenly bodies.
Brahe’s observations, especially of Mars, were far
more precise than any made previously.
 Johannes Kepler
• Kepler discovered three laws of planetary motion:
1. Orbits of the planets are elliptical.
2. Planets revolve around the sun at varying speed.
3. There is a proportional relationship between a planet’s
orbital period and its distance to the sun.
 Early Astronomy

The Birth of Modern Astronomy

German astronomer
Johannes Kepler
(1571-1630) helped
establish the era of modern
astronomy by deriving
three laws of planetary
motion.
 Johannes Kepler
• 1599 – Kepler hired by Tycho Brahe
– Work on the orbit of Mars

• 1609 – Kepler’s 1st and 2nd Laws

– Planets move on ellipses with the Sun at one focus
– The radius vector sweeps out equal areas in equal
times

• 1618 – Kepler’s 3rd Law

– The square of a planet’s orbital period P is
proportional to the cube of its semi-major axis R.
 Early Astronomy

Johannes Kepler used Tycho Brahe’s data to develop

three laws that explained the motions of the planets.
Earth’s orbit

January 15th
Equal areas
June 15th

(30 days) (30 days)

July 15th Sun

December 15th

KEPLER’S EQUAL AREA LAW states that a line connecting Earth to the sun will pass
over equal areas of space in equal times. Because Earth’s orbit is elliptical, Earth moves
faster when it is nearer to the sun.
 Early Astronomy

KEPLER’S EQUAL
AREA LAW states that a
Equal areas law line connecting Earth to
the sun will pass over
equal areas of space in
equal times. Because
Earth’s orbit is elliptical,
Faster Slower
Earth moves faster when
it is nearer to the sun.
Early Astronomy
 Galileo Galilei

Italian scientist
Galileo Galilei (1564—1642)
used a new invention, the
telescope, to observe the Sun,
Moon, and planets in more
detail than ever before.
 Early Astronomy
The Birth of Modern Astronomy
 Galileo Galilei
• Galileo’s most important contributions were his
descriptions of the behavior of moving objects.
• He developed his own telescope and made
important discoveries:
1. Four satellites, or moons, orbit Jupiter.
2. Planets are circular disks, not just points of light.
3. Venus has phases just like the moon.
4. The moon’s surface is not smooth.
5. The sun has sunspots, or dark regions.
 Early Astronomy
 Sir Isaac Newton

English scientist
Sir Isaac Newton
(1642—1727)
explained gravity as
the force that holds
planets in orbit around
the Sun.
 Early Astronomy
The Birth of Modern Astronomy
 Sir Isaac Newton
• Although others had theorized the existence of
gravitational force, Newton was the first to formulate and
test the law of universal gravitation. The universal law of
gravitation, helped explain the motions of planets in the
solar system.
 Universal Gravitation
• Gravitational force decreases with distance.
• The greater the mass of an object, the greater is
its gravitational force.
Gravity’s Influence on Orbits
 Newton’s Laws of Motion
• 1st Law
– A body at rest, or in uniform motion, will remain
so unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
• 2nd Law
– The change in motion (acceleration) is
proportional to the unbalanced force
• 3rd Law
– For every action there is an equal and opposite
reaction
 Gravity
• Gravity is the force that
– holds us to the Earth
– causes a rock to fall towards the ground
– causes the Earth to go around the Sun
– causes the Sun to be pulled towards the center of
the Milky Way galaxy

• Gravity acts between any two objects even if

they are far apart.
– “action at a distance”
 Summary
• Kepler’s and Galileo’s Laws provided Newton with
important clues that helped him formulate his laws of
motion

• Newton arrived at 3 laws that govern the motion of

objects
– The law of inertia
– The law of force
– The law of action and reaction

• Newton also arrived at a law of gravity

– But it seemed to require action at a distance!