Men of the Universe

Copernicus Feb 19, 1473 –May 24, 1543 Could speak Latin, Polish, German, Italian and Greek Attended the University of Padua. Banned by the Roman Catholic Church not long after his death.

Copernicus’ Contribution He provided evidence that the moon moved around the Earth. He stated that the Earth was the 3rd planet from the sun. Provided evidence for a heliocentric theory – sun is the center of the solar system.

Brahe Dec 14,1546 – Oct 24 1601 Born in what is now Denmark and died in the Czech Republic Had 8 children Known as an astronomer Had a silver prosthetic (fake) nose. Lost it as the result of a duel

Brahe Worked for the Roman Emperor, Rudolph II. Went to University of Copenhagen and Univ. of Leipzing. He once had 1% of all of Denmark’s wealth.

Brahe’s Contribution First thought the sun orbited the Earth and also thought the Earth was the center of the orbit. This is known as being geo-centric. He is the one that opened up the “door” for more discoveries.

Galileo Feb 15, 1564 – Jan 8, 1642 Italian Father was a musician Went to several different schools to study music and physics. Studied medicine at Piso Univ. but due to financial reasons had to self teach himself

Galileo Was an astronomer, physicist, mathmetician, and philosopher. Known as the father of modern science Middle finger of his right hand is on display at the Museum of History and Science in Florence,Italy He found that Jupiter has 4 moons that follow it.

Galileo’s contribution Disproved Aristotle’s theory of everything orbiting the Earth by studying the phases of Venus. Provided first observational proof for the Copernican system  Heliocentric

Kepler Dec 27, 1571 – Nov 16, 1630 Johannes Kepler was a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer. He was a key figure in the 17th century scientific revolution. Studied under Brahe Attended the University of Tubigen Married twice. First to discuss moon’s effect on tides. Heliocentric theory

Planetary Orbits and Kepler’s Law

Kepler Johannes Kepler was a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer. He was a key figure in the 17th century scientific revolution. Kepler’s Laws describe the motion of the planets around the sun. Kepler knew of 6 planets: Earth, Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

Kepler’s First Law States that planets move around the sun in ellipses, with the sun at one focus. What does this really mean? This means that the distance between the planet and the sun varies, as the planet goes around.

Kepler’s 1st Law Looking at the diagram, determine what the terms “perihelion” and “aphelion” mean.

Kepler’s 2nd Law This law basically states that a planet will move its fastest when closest to the Sun and its slowest when at a distance furthest from the Sun.

What do you notice here?

Kepler’s 3rd Law Explains how the amount of time needed for a planet to orbit the Sun is related to the distance the planet is from the Sun. The closer a planet is to the Sun, the shorter the amount of time needed for a planet to travel around the Sun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acrLrlApvy8

A Summary of Kepler’s Laws http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAftXFEOmGo