During the Renaissance, knowledge in astronomy grew substantially and new models do the universe were created. Many astronomers participated in researching the universe and stars. For example, Copernicus is famous for proposing the heliocentric universe model. Kepler expanded on this model, and made changes to it so it accurately fit the data available. These astronomers worked countless years to develop models and expand on data, and corrected the false information to better understand our universe.
Nicolaus Copernicus is one astronomer that greatly contributed to astronomical ideas. As Plato’s work began to be rediscovered, many fascinated astronomers including Copernicus studied Plato’s work, and found most of his measurements to be accurate. Plato’s geocentric model interested lots of astronomers, but Copernicus proposed a different model, called the heliocentric universe.
This model placed the sun at the center of the universe, and showed the planets orbiting around the sun, while the moon revolves around the Earth. However, he still thought the planet’s revolution was circular. At this time, most people and astronomers believed that Plato’s model was correct. Copernicus wrote a book, commentariolus, otherwise known as, A Little Commentary, which summarized all his theories and included his model of the universe, all of which were supported by math.
127 our experts are availableright now
Geocentric Model – Heliocentric Model
The final book he published included his newest model he worked on and was published in 1543. Its name is, On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres. The Catholic Church despised his model and banned the book, but a little while later, when the Church loosened up a bit, astronomers studied his books. Not long after, Copernicus passed away.
Tycho Brahe, nicknamed The Observer, was a Danish astronomer that was influenced greatly by Copernicus. Brahe focused on observing the skies and providing even more accurate information along with correcting inaccurate information about our universe. He succeeded in persuading the Danish King to provide an island and funds to construct an observatory on the island.He had many assistants, and with them, he created numerous instruments to observe the sky with. After a while, he set up a new observatory in Prague. Although he was greatly influenced by Copernicus, he didn’t accept his heliocentric model. Instead he proposed a whole new idea, where the earth is located in the middle of the universe, and the sun and moon revolves around it. The other planets revolves around the sun, and the stars just outside the orbits of the solar system. He also believed that the universe was not large and that some stars were close enough to see movement, while the farther stars could be seen to stay still. Another thing that made him even more famous was his assistant, Johannes Kepler, who inherited all of Brahe’s work after he died.
Johannes Kepler started out as Brahe’s assistant, but contrary to his ideas, Kepler accepted Copernicus’ model of the universe and tried to add onto it. At first, Brahe was hesitant in providing information about the universe to Kepler, but he soon realized that he couldn’t find many things without Kepler’s intelligence and passion for astronomy. Brahe soon provided more and more data to Kepler, and when he passed away, Kepler gained all of Brahe’s work to expand on. Kepler believed and wanted the universe to be geometrically perfect, but his model still had many irregularities that didn’t fit with the data. This led to the idea of ellipses. Kepler was the first to substitute circular orbits with elliptic revolutions. By getting rid of geometrical perfection, the data fit into the model almost perfectly and it was also supported and verified by observations. Kepler also introduced two more mathematical laws, areas and periods.
Galileo Galilei studied astronomy without knowing of Kepler’s discoveries and work. While Kepler focused more on celestial bodies, Galileo was directed towards terrestrial machines. Galileo was taught about medicine and mathematics, and became famous for making instruments to study the skies. He was also known to be an extraordinary physicist. Although Galileo probably didn’t come up with the idea of the telescope first, he upgraded the design, making it more effective and clear. He observed many celestial objects and even the Milky Way. He noticed that the sun and moon had irregular features, and discovered sunspots. He also observed that Venus had phases, similar to the moon, so it couldn’t possibly orbit around the Earth. All of his observations agreed with the heliocentric model, with the sun being in the middle of the universe. Galileo’s work on gravity also left a big impact.
These astronomers created a path for Enlightenment astronomers to follow and expand on. During Plato’s time, the geocentric model that Plato created seemed to be correct, but Nicolaus Copernicus thought differently. Instead, he thought that the planets revolve around the sun while the moon orbits around the earth. Decades later, Tycho Brahe a famous observer proposed another idea, that the sun and moon revolves around the Earth while the other planets orbited around the sun. His apprentice, Johannes Kepler thought he was wrong, and followed Copernicus. He soon found out ellipses better fit the model, and that also created advances in math and science.
On the other hand, Galileo focused on astronomical instruments. Although he probably didn’t create the telescope, he was credited for upgrading the telescope massively. With it, he discovered that the sun and moon had irregular faces, and also discovered sunspots. Galileo also looked a bit into gravity, which helped scientists. Many centuries later, our knowledge on astronomy increased immensely, and we now probably know more about space than the deepest oceans.
