Chapter 3 Flashcards
In Ptolemy’s model, it is possible to have a planetary orbit without retrograde motion
true
Copernicus’ heliocentric model was able to predict the location of the planets more accurately than Ptolemy’s geocentric model
false
Copernicus was the first to be able to prove that the Earth orbited around the Sun
false
According to the small angle equation, if an object at a fixed distance is suddenly shrunk to a smaller size, then the angular size will
decrease
Copernicus was the first person to suggest that the Sun is at the center of our solar system.
false
Copernicus figure out which planets were closer to the Sun and which were further
sidereal and synodic periods
Eratosthenes
ancient astronomer measured the radius of the Earth
size of the Earth could be measured accurately in ancient times by using
shadows on Earth
Ptolemy improved the geocentric model by
adding epicycles and deferents
One of the main objections to the heliocentric model
we do not feel the Earth moving
Aristotle believed that the planets
orbited the Earth in circular orbits
superiod conjunction
When a planet orbits to the opposite side of the Sun as Earth (and it appears near the Sun in our sky), the planet is at
sidereal period
The time it takes a planet to orbit the Sun once and return to the same location in space
Ptolemy’s improvements were important because they explained
retrograde motion
scientific ideas was never discussed in the ancient world
faint lights in the sky are galaxies
Aristotle
believed the universe could be understood by the power of reason alone
