From Geocentric to Heliocentric: How Discoveries Are Made

Has anyone ever seen with their own eyes that the Earth goes around the sun? Even to this day, no one has. However, 500 and even 2000 years ago, some astronomers managed to point out that this is the case. At that time, people's range of activities was strictly confined, the technology and tools used were extremely primitive, and many of the mathematical methods used today had not been developed. How did those astronomers make and verify this discovery?

This book explains this exciting demonstration process. It enables anyone with a basic junior-high-school knowledge of geometry and a certain degree of spatial imagination to understand this and other interesting discoveries in the solar system. By demonstrating this interesting process, the book not only satisfies readers' curiosity using the simplest mathematics, but also inspires them to explore the new and unknown world.

Shows how big astronomic discoveries could be made in the past without advanced tools or technology Allows anyone to understand the process of discovery, from reasoning through verification to conclusion Inspires readers to start exploring for themselves

Contenu

Introduction.- Observing the sky.- Why observe the sky.- Secret trail of the sun, the moon and the stars.- Puzzles about the earth.- Guess what the universe is like.- Ptolemy's Geocentric system which had dominated for a thousand years.- The sun in the center of the universe.- Combination of the two major systems.- Triumph of the Heliocentric Theory.