Exam 4: Origins of Modern Astronomy

Which statement best describes a theory?

Kepler's first law of planetary motion states "The orbits of the planets are _____ with the Sun at one focus."

The most important idea in Copernicus' De Revolutionibus was placing the _______________ at the center of the Universe.

Which book was authored by Copernicus that explained the Sun as the center of a planetary system?

A circle is an ellipse with an eccentricity of ____.

Which publication was Kepler's masterpiece, providing strong evidence to planetary motion and a heliocentric Universe?

Ptolemy based his model on theories first developed by Plato, who believed each celestial body traveled around a small circle that followed a larger circle around Earth.

Explain why Copernicus' hypothesis, where the Sun was the center of the planetary system, became known as the Copernican Revolution.

What did most Greek philosophers accept as a first principle?

The 99 years that revolutionized Astronomy ended with whose death?

What did the Greek philosopher Philolaus believe about the Universe?

Explain the differences between a hypothesis, theory and a natural law.

In Kepler's model of the Universe, what was the purpose of the five regular solids?

Ptolemy tried to describe the motion of the planets by devising a small circle, called a(n) ____, which rotated around the edge of a larger circle.

In the Copernican system, Earth moves _______________ along its orbit than the planets that lie farther from the Sun.

A well-known structure located in Britain and investigated by archeoastronomist is called _______________.

Figure 4-9 The accompanying illustration demonstrates Copernicus's theory of ____.

The Inquisition condemned Galileo for heresy in 1616.

Kepler originally proposed that the planets were spaced apart by ____.

What was Tycho Brahe's contribution to astronomy?