Astronomical Theories and Figures

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Ptolemy & Aristotle

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Greek; thought the Earth was the center of the solar system; geocentric

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Copernicus

Back

Polish; first said the sun is the center of the solar system; heliocentric

Front

Galileo

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Italian; used telescope for astronomy; saw phases of Venus & moons of Jupiter

Front

Kepler

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German; discovered planets orbit in an ellipse, not a circle

Front

Newton

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English; concluded that inertia and gravity keep the planets in their orbit