Chapter 1

The
Copernican
Revolution

(Reading assignment: Chapter 1)

•The Sun, Moon and even the stars all move smoothly across
the sky, with slight changes in brightness and position
happening slowly over days and months or even years.
•Early observers noticed, however, that five bodies, called
planets, moved somewhat differently.

Planets seemed to "wander"

across the Celestial sphere in
two ways:
1. Direct Motion - normal
eastward movement across the
sky

2. Retrograde Motion –
occasional westward movement,
causing the planet to appear to
make “loops”. Around the period
of the retrograde motion, the
planet get brighter
Retrograde motion of Mars in the year 2003

Ancient observers noticed that a planet is brighter when it is in retrograde motion. They have to
find an explanation to that. They correctly reasoned that the change is brightness is related to its
distance from Earth
Early observers used their observations to form ideas about the nature of the Universe.
Astrology and Astronomy in ancient times were indistinguishable from each other. Both were
interested to “see” into the future, but in a completely different way. Astrologers were interested in
predicting the destiny of a person. Astronomers were interested in predicting the position of planets,
the Moon and the Sun.
As we will see in this chapter, finally astronomy replaced astrology and the modern astronomy and
science was born.
The Geocentric Models

• Followed teachings of Greek

philosopher Aristotle (384-322
B.C.)

• Geocentric model: Earth is at

the center of the universe with
planets and Sun orbiting it in
circular orbits.

• Explained planetary motions

using deferents and epicycles
Ptolemy (AD 140) constructed one of the best geocentric models.
Ptolemaic Universe

• Useful for predicting the

positions of the five planets,
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and
Saturn in the sky (At least within
the accuracy of the observations at
that time), but ultimately wrong.
The Ptolemaic model of the
Universe survived for almost 13
centuries (140 AD to 1500 BC)
Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543)
• Re-discovered Aristarchus (310-230 B.C.) idea of
heliocentric model . Aristarchus proposed a model in
which all the planets and the Earth revolve around the
Sun. His ideas did not gain much acceptance; Aristotle
influence was too strong.

• Copernicus introduced a mathematical model for a

Heliocentric universe. The Sun is at the center of the
universe.

• The critical realization that the Earth is not at the center of

the Universe is called the “Copernican Revolution”

• Earth spins on its axis.

• Earth and all the planets orbit the Sun! (still on circular
orbits)

• Only the Moon orbits the Earth.

• Retrograde motion is an “optical illusion.”

Copernicus and the heliocentric model
 Copernicus idea were not widely accepted
 Relegating the Earth to a less important position in the solar system
(and the universe) contradicted the conventional wisdom of the time
 It also violated the religious doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church.
Getting in conflict with the church was not a good idea.
 His model was not much better than the geocentric model at
predicting the position of the planets.
 There was no observational evidence to support his model and reject
the geocentric model.
 For example, if the Earth revolves around the Sun, why we don’t see
stellar parallax?
 His book “On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres” was not
published until 1543, the year of his death
 It wasn’t until the following century when Galileo (~1610) and Kepler
were able to provided observational evidence that supported the
heliocentric model
In the Heliocentric system, the apparent retrograde motion of the
planets is naturally explained.

A planet appears to undergo retrograde motion when the Earth

approaches and ‘overtakes’ that planet in its orbit.
The Birth of Modern Astronomy
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
• Father of experimental science
• First to point a telescope (which
he built) toward the sky in 1609
• Discoveries: 1. Moon craters
and mountains

2. Sunspots and the

rotation of the Sun

3. Satellites (Moons)
of Jupiter

4. Phases of Venus
Galileo telescope
( A refracting telescope, magnification of 20)
The basic optics of a refracting telescope
Galileo found that the Moon has mountains, valleys and
craters

Galileo sketch of the Moon Moon about 7 days old Crater Albategnius
More about Galileo observations and their
implications
Jupiter has four
The Sun has imperfections, it
satellites (Now known
wasn’t a perfect unblemished
as Galilean moons): Io,
sphere. He found that it had dark
Europa, Ganymede and
spots now known as sunspots.
Callisto
Over a few days, the sunspots
They were in orbit
drifted across the disk, evidence
around Jupiter, not
of rotation of the Sun (about once
around the Earth
per month)
More of what Galileo observed and the implications

Venus phases: Venus show a

complete cycle of phases,
(similar to the Moon) from
“new” Venus to “full” Venus

Using the geocentric

(Ptolemy’s) model, the phases
of Venus had no explanation. In
this model, Venus cannot go
through a “full” phase

In the heliocentric (Sun-

centered) model, it was simple
to explain the “full” phase of
Venus
Galileo observations contradicted the geocentric model:
•Venus did not orbit the Earth. It orbits the Sun
•Jupiter’s satellites did not orbit the Earth. They orbit Jupiter

Galileo observations challenged the “scientific” orthodoxy and the

religious dogma of the day.
His ideas were judged heretical. He was forced to retract his claim that
Earth orbit the Sun.
The Inquisition put him in house arrest for the rest of his life.

Galileo used the Scientific Method when studying objects in the sky.
Observation Explanation

Prediction
The Laws of Planetary Motion
• Recorded superb naked-eye
Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) positions of the planets.
Tycho was an
excellent
observational
astronomer.
In his observatory
named Uraniborg, he
built large
instruments with
large circles that
allow him to observe
the position of planets
and stars with good
accuracy. His
instruments had no
optics
Tycho died in 1601, about 8 years • Around 1600 Tycho became an
before the invention of the employer of Kepler who eventually
telescope (1609) inherited all of his data after his death.
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
• Kepler goal was to find, within the
framework of the Copernican model, a way
to fit Tycho Brahe’s data and be able to
describe the shapes, relative size of the
planetary orbits.

• He did not observe, was a pure theorist!

• Using the Copernican heliocentric model, he

struggled trying to fit the observations using
circular orbits. It didn’t work!

• To fit the observations, he had to assume that

planets are on elliptical orbits

His three laws of planetary motions are

He published his first two laws in empirical (Based on fitting to the existing
1609, close to the time Galileo was data)
using his telescope
Kepler’s First Law
The orbital path of the planets are elliptical with the
Sun at one focus.

Perihelion: shortest distance from the Sun

Aphelion: largest distance from the Sun

Ellipse, definition of
eccentricity:

major axis  minor axis

eccentricity 
major axis
In general, all orbiting bodies follow
elliptical orbits. This applies to the
Moon, planets, binaries stars and all
orbiting bodies.
Important parameters in the ellipse

In a circle, the position of the two foci coincide with

the center. In that case, the distance c is zero and the
eccentricity e is zero
Kepler’s Second Law
 An imaginary line connecting the Sun and any planets sweeps
out equal areas of the ellipse in equal intervals of time.

 As a result from applying the second law, the planets move fastest at
perihelion and slowest at aphelion.

Important implication of
the Second Law:
area A = area B = area C
The length of the arc for area
C is larger than the length of
the arc for area A but the
planet travel trough these
two arcs in the same amount
of time
It travel faster to
cover area C
Kepler’s Third Law
 The square of a planet's orbital period is
proportional to the cube of its semi-major axis.
 If the period is expressed in years and the semi-major axis in AU, the
proportional sign can be replaced by the equal sign

P2 = a3

P (Period in years) = time for one orbit

a (Semi-major axis in AU) = average distance

(a corresponds to the radius if the orbit is circular)

Kepler derived this law using data from Mars. He later extended the law to
the rest of the planets known to him
Let’s plot Kepler Third Law

P(period)2 = a(semi-major axis)3

The largest the distance between the planet and the Sun, the longest the period
of the planet
P2 = a3

P2 /a3 = 1
Some orbital properties of the planets
1st Law 2nd Law 3rd Law
Kepler’s Third Law, an example

 The orbital period p of the Earth is 1 year

and the distance a to the Sun is 1 AU
 What is the orbital period (or the “year”) of
a planet located at a distance of 10 AU from
the Sun?
 Should the period be 10 years?
Let’s find the answer:
Let’s use Kepler’s Third Law

P² = a³
a = 10 AU
P² = 10³ = 1000
_____
P = √ 1000
P = 31.5 years
The dimensions of the Solar System
Kepler’s Laws tell us the shape of the each planet’s orbital
motion, the period and relative distance to the Sun (In AU ) but it
doesn’t tell us about the actual size of the orbit (in kilometers).
How many kilometers is one AU? How we can determine that?

The modern method to determine the actual distances in the solar

system is RADAR (Acronym for RAdio Detection And Ranging).
A short pulse of radio waves is directed towards a planet (for
example to Venus). The wave is reflected at the planet and we get
a weak return pulse (echo). We can measure the time that the radio
wave takes for the round trip. Since we know the speed of light (c
= 300,000 km/s) we can derive the distance (d = c x t). The time t
here is half of the round trip time.
Note: We cannot directly measure the AU by bouncing radio waves
directly to the Sun. Radio waves are absorbed by the Sun!
Example
We send a radar pulse to Venus when it is at
the closest point from Earth. It takes about
300 seconds to receive an echo. The one-
way travel time is 150 seconds. Venus is
0.3 AU from Earth at the closest point.
(Remember that Speed = Distance/Time)

Distance = Speed x Time

Distance = 300,000 x 150 = 45,000,000 km

The AU is 45,000,000 /0.3 = 150,000,000 km

Isaac Newton (1642-1727)- 17th Century British mathematician

• Developed what is now known as

“Newtonian mechanics.”

• His 3 laws of motion plus his theory

of gravity and his development of
calculus are sufficient to explains
virtually all motion, including
planetary motions.

• Only in extreme cases do these laws

of motion break down.
Newton’s First Law
An object at rest remains at rest, and a moving object
continues to move forever in a straight line with
constant speed, unless some external force changes
their state of motion.
Newton’s Second Law
The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the
net applied force and inversely proportional to the object’s
mass (a = F/m)

F=ma
If two object are pulled with the same force, the one with the greater mass
will accelerate less.

If two identical objects (same mass) are pulled with different forces, the one
pulled with the greater force will accelerate more.

Remember the definition of speed and acceleration:

Speed = Distance/Time (Units: m/sec)
Distance = Speed x Time
Acceleration = Speed/Time (Units: m/sec²)
Newton’s Third Law

“Whenever one body exerts a force on a second body, the

second body exerts an equal and opposite force on the first.”

To every action (force), there is an equal and opposite

reaction (force).
Gravity
Newton realized that any object having mass
exerts an attractive gravitational force F on all
other objects having mass.
Mass of one object

Mass of other object

constant

GMm
F 2
force
r
Distance between them

m M
r
Newton Law of Gravitation
The gravitational force F between two bodies is
directly proportional to the product of the masses
M and m and inversely proportional to the square
of the distance r between them
Mass of one object

Mass of other object

constant
Inverse
square law
GMm
F 2
force
r
Distance between them
Weight and Mass
Weight is the force due to the gravitational attraction of a body by
the Earth (or by another body).
Mass is the amount of matter
You would weigh less on the Moon (weaker gravitational force)
than on Jupiter or the Sun:

Note: Mass ≠ weight: The person’s mass

never changes but the weight does.
The mutual gravitational attraction between the Sun and
planets is responsible for their motion.
Kepler’s 3rd Newton’s laws of motion and his law of universal
gravitation provided a theoretical explanation
Law revisited for Kepler’s empirical laws of planetary motion

Using Newton’s universal gravitation law, one

can derive Kepler’s laws. But the equations are
more general and allow to extend the results to
any two bodies orbiting each other.

The Sun and Earth both orbit their mutual center

of mass, which is inside the Sun.

The Sun moves very little (BIG mass), while the

Earth moves a lot (less massive).

What is the Center of

m1d1 = m2d2
Mass?
Orbits of bodies of different masses

An example:
The mass of
the Sun is
about 333,000
times larger
than the mass
of the Earth

Revised Kepler’s First Law:

The orbit of a planet around the Sun is an ellipse having the center of mass
of the planet-Sun system at one focus.
The revised Kepler’s 3rd law include both the mass
of the central body and the mass of the orbiting
body.
The change to Kepler’s third law is small in the case of a planet
orbiting the Sun, but larger in the case where the two bodies are closer
in mass, e.g. 2 stars orbiting each other (binary star system).

Kepler’s revised 3rd law:

a3
P 
2
Mtotal

(: Proportional sign)

For Planet-Sun systems:
Mtotal = MSun + Mplanet ≈ Msun
An application of the revised Kepler 3rd Law:
Find the mass of Jupiter using the orbital parameters of one of its satellites
 We want to obtain the mass of Jupiter using the mean distance (a) of
one of its moon ( for example Io) and its orbital period (P)

 Mtotal= MJupiter + MIo

 But the mass of Io is much smaller than the mass of Jupiter (Jupiter has
about 21,000 times more mass than Io)
The mass of Io can be neglected
 If we express a in AU and P in years, we can substitute the proportional
sign for an equal sign

 MJupiter = a3 / P2
 The mass of Jupiter will be given in solar mass

 Another interesting application : The equation allows to compute the

mass of the black body located at the center of the Milky Way using the
mean distance and the orbital period of a star orbiting the black hole