A COMMON COSMOLOGY OF THE ANCIENT x k - jpg

The motions of Venus

The Geocentric Universe:

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HeliocentricGeocentric

~8-9th Century BC The idea that the Earth is in motion around the Sun is proposed in Sanskrit texts in ancient India. It is the first recorded evidence of heliocentrism.

4th Century BC Greek philosopher Heraclides Ponticus proposes that the apparent daily motion of stars is created by the rotation of the Earth.

3rd Century BC Greek astronomer Aristarchus of Samos advances heliocentrism in a now lost book. The ideas of Aristarchus, however, were described in a book by the great philosopher and scientist Archimedes called The Sand Reckoner.

2nd Century BC Babylonian astronomer Seleucus of Seleucia proves support for the heliocentric theory by his study of ocean tides.

150 AD Greek scientist Claudius Ptolemy publishes the Almagest, a scientific treatise which proposes a geocentric, or Earth-Centered model of planetary motion. The Geocentric Model (also called that Ptolemaic Model) remained the accepted model for over a thousand years in the Western world.Claudius Ptolemy

9th century Afghan astronomer Ja'far ibn Muhammad Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi develops a model of planetary motion which proposes that all planets revolve around the Sun.

1543 Nicolaus Copernicus publishes De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (English: On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres). It is the first scientific treatise to provide detailed scientific support for heliocentrism.Nicolaus Copernicus

Johannes Kepler discovers the three laws of planetary motion. His work would provide the scientific basis for a broad acceptance of the heliocentric model later in the century.Johannes Kepler

1633 Galileo Galilei is sentenced to prison by the Inquisition on the charge of heresy for advancing the Copernican model of planetary motion in his book, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems.Galileo Galilei

1687 Sir Isaac Newton publishes Principia Mathematica. This highly influential work describes the physical laws that govern the motions of planets.

ROME, Italy (CNN) January 15, Pope Benedict XVI has canceled a planned visit to a prestigious Italian university after a protest by academics and students attacked his views on Galileo, the Vatican confirmed Tuesday. The pope had been due to give a speech at La Sapienza university in Rome Thursday to open its academic year. However, the visit drew criticism from academics at the university who signed a letter demanding that the trip be called off. Separately, students protested outside the university, carrying banners insisting the university is a lay institution and the pope is not welcome.

HeliocentricGeocentric

Heliocentrism History

"Given the events of the past days regarding the visit of the Holy Father to La Sapienza university upon the rector's invitation, which was scheduled to take place Thursday, January 17, it was decided to postpone the event," the Vatican said in a short written statement. Father Ciro Benedettini, a spokesman for the Vatican, confirmed to CNN the academic protests had prompted the cancellation. In the letter, academics -- pointing to a speech the pope gave at the same university as a cardinal in claimed he condones the 1633 trial and conviction of the scientist Galileo for heresy. The astronomer had argued that the Earth revolved around the Sun, in contradiction to church teachings at the time, and he was forced to renounce his findings publicly.

ROME, Italy (CNN) January 15, Pope Benedict XVI has canceled a planned visit to a prestigious Italian university after a protest by academics and students attacked his views on Galileo, the Vatican confirmed Tuesday. The pope had been due to give a speech at La Sapienza university in Rome Thursday to open its academic year. However, the visit drew criticism from academics at the university who signed a letter demanding that the trip be called off. Separately, students protested outside the university, carrying banners insisting the university is a lay institution and the pope is not welcome. "Given the events of the past days regarding the visit of the Holy Father to La Sapienza university upon the rector's invitation, which was scheduled to take place Thursday, January 17, it was decided to postpone the event," the Vatican said in a short written statement. Father Ciro Benedettini, a spokesman for the Vatican, confirmed to CNN the academic protests had prompted the cancellation. In the letter, academics -- pointing to a speech the pope gave at the same university as a cardinal in claimed he condones the 1633 trial and conviction of the scientist Galileo for heresy. The astronomer had argued that the Earth revolved around the Sun, in contradiction to church teachings at the time, and he was forced to renounce his findings publicly.

In comments made 15 years ago when he was still a cardinal, Pope Benedict is reported to have called the trial "reasonable and just." During his speech, the pope -- then Cardinal Ratzinger -- quoted an Austrian philosopher Paul Feyerabend, saying, "At the time of Galileo, the church remained more loyal (or faithful) to reason than Galileo himself. Andreas Srova, a physics professor at the university, said it would have been inappropriate for the pope to appear for the inauguration. Srova, who signed the protest letter and is the author of a book detailing the 1633 trial, said he is "very satisfied" that the Vatican decided to cancel the trip. "We have no objections to the pope visiting at any other time when there can be exchanges of opinion, but not at the inauguration," he said. "It was a mistake to ask him to come at this time." CNN's Rome bureau chief Alessio Vinci said it was quite extraordinary for the pope to cancel the visit just because of the objections of the students and professors. It Is especially surprising, he said, given that this is the same pope that made a controversial visit to Turkey last year. Pope Benedict went to the predominantly Muslim country despite strained relations between the Vatican and the Islamic world following a lecture the pope gave at a German university in which he made unflattering comments about the Islamic faith. to a friend to a friend

1757 Pope Benedict XIV suspends the Catholic Church ban on works that support the heliocentric mode

Ptolemy's Universe Here you have the Sun and the three superior planets according to Ptolemy. What an amazing coincidence that all the epicycles move at exactly the same rate and are all exactly the same size, and that that rate and size is exactly the same as the mean sun!!

The Geocentric Universe:

Heliocentrism History