geocentric articles
What is the geocentric model often called, named after an influential Greek astronomer?
What was the most immediate and compelling strength of the geocentric view?
What specific, erratic planetary behavior forced the geocentric model to adopt complex additions like epicycles?
What were the small circles, championed by Ptolemy, upon which planets moved while their centers traversed larger paths?
Which key observation, later confirmed by Galileo with his telescope, provided powerful evidence against the geocentric structure?
The inability to detect which phenomenon led proponents of the geocentric model to logically conclude that the Earth must not be moving?
What factor allowed the geocentric model to dominate for over a thousand years despite its mathematical complexities?
Philosophically, why was placing humanity at the center of the cosmos appealing to many historical thinkers?
In contrast to the geocentric view, what does the heliocentric model explain retrograde motion as?
What key scientific virtue did the geocentric model ultimately sacrifice in order to match observational data accurately?
What is the most significant limitation of the geocentric model regarding celestial bodies?
What geometric tool was the primary construct devised to mathematically address retrograde motion in the Ptolemaic system?
How is the apparent retrograde motion of planets like Mars characterized in the night sky?
In the Ptolemaic structure, what path did the center of the epicycle move upon?
What concept, introduced by Ptolemy, demonstrated a break from the ideal of perfect uniform circular motion around the center?
How does the heliocentric explanation account for retrograde motion compared to the geocentric model?
Structurally, how was the Sun treated within the geocentric model's system of orbits?
What did the need for an increasing number of corrective mechanisms signal about the geocentric model?
What inherent weakness is highlighted by the geocentric model's philosophical rigidity?
If a perfect instrument were available, what observation would ultimately expose the failure of the Earth-centered premise?
What is the fundamental premise of the geocentric model?
Which ancient thinker famously epitomized the complex geocentric model?
What specific mathematical constructs did Ptolemy introduce to explain retrograde motion in the geocentric system?
What term describes the failure of the geocentric explanations compared to the heliocentric alternative?
What observation made by Galileo using a telescope decisively contradicted the geocentric view of Venus?
What is the apparent shift in nearby stars against distant stars due to Earth's yearly movement called?
According to the text, how does the heliocentric model explain retrograde motion simply?
Which physical effect, observed in large-scale patterns, is inconsistent with a model requiring an absolutely stationary, non-rotating Earth?
What concept did early geocentrists often use to argue against Earth's motion based on observations made before the 1830s?
What was the mechanical concept used in early geocentric models proposed by thinkers like Eudoxus?