EARTH SCIENCE MRS. DAVIS The Universe EARTH SCIENCE MRS. DAVIS
Our View of the Cosmos Astronomy has seen 3 scientific revolutions in cosmology… 2nd Century: Claudius Ptolemy (Physics of Aristotle) Geocentric: Earth-centered model of the universe 16th Century: Nicolaus Copernicus (Physics of Newton) Heliocentric: Sun-centered model of the universe 20th Century: Edwin Hubble (Physics of Einstein) Big Bang Cosmology
Geocentric Model
What’s wrong with this idea? The geocentric model couldn’t explain retrograde motion. Planets like Mars look like they drift from side to side.
Retrograde Motion
Heliocentric Model
New(ish) Ideas -- Brahe 1546-1601 Didn’t believe the heliocentric model Stars should demonstrate parallax Apparent shift in position
New(ish) Ideas -- Kepler 1571-1630 Developed 3 laws of planetary motion
Kepler’s 1st Law Orbits are shaped like an ellipse with sun as one focus Perihelion-closest to the sun Aphelion- farthest from the sun Major Axis Minor (semi-major) axis Keplers 1st Law
Ellipse
Ellipse
Kepler’s 2nd Law A planet sweeps out an equal area in equal time no matter how fast it is moving. https://youtu.be/qd3dIGJqRDU
Kepler’s 2nd Law
Kepler’s 3rd Law The farther away a planet is from the sun, the longer it takes for one complete period. 1 astronomical unit (1 AU) is the average distance from sun to Earth https://youtu.be/KbXVpdlmYZo
New(ish) Ideas -- Galileo Created telescope Observed Jupiter’s moons Saw planets are spheres Moon surface Sun spots House arrest http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mwKEmqK8dI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIRs6fwRjpM
New(ish) Ideas -- Newton 1642-1727 Law of Universal Gravitation: Gravity keeps planets from flying away Mass is proportional (Mass goes up, gravitational force goes up) Longer the radius, weaker the gravitational pull.