Horizons: Exploring the Universe (MindTap Course List)
14th Edition
ISBN: 9781305960961
Author: Michael A. Seeds, Dana Backman
Publisher: Cengage Learning
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Textbook Question
Chapter 4, Problem 1RQ
Why did Greek astronomers conclude that the heavens were made up of perfect crystalline spheres moving at constant speeds?
Expert Solution & Answer
To determine
The reason for Heaven's were mode of perfect crystalline sphere moving at constant speed.
Answer to Problem 1RQ
Greek Astronomers concludes that heavens are made of perfect sphere because heavenly bodies move in circular motion. The only perfect geometrical shape is sphere.
Explanation of Solution
- Heaven is a huge dome under which Sun, moon, stars, planets are situated. As sphere is a perfect geometrical shape, it carries a point on its surface around a circle anywhere and circular motion is the only motion which is uniform.
- Greek astronomers were highly interested in numbers and mathematics. They wanted to calculate heavenly motion of the object. They concluded that all the objects in heaven are attached to giant Sphere which rotates around Earth at uniform motion.
- Sun, moon, planets do not revolve around earth and don’t set and raise like sun, they just go laterally like a cap which turns half along head and back.
Conclusion:
Unlike set and rise of stars, heaven is perfect sphere of Crystal which moves uniformly at constant speed. Stars are attached to a rigid frame called heaven.
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Chapter 4 Solutions
Horizons: Exploring the Universe (MindTap Course List)
Ch. 4 - Why did Greek astronomers conclude that the...Ch. 4 - Why did classical astronomers conclude that Earth...Ch. 4 - How did the Ptolemaic model explain retrograde...Ch. 4 - In what ways were the models of Ptolemy and...Ch. 4 - Why did the Copernican hypothesis win gradual...Ch. 4 - Why is it difficult for scientists to replace an...Ch. 4 - Why did Tycho Brahe expect the new star of 1572 to...Ch. 4 - How was Tycho’s model of the Universe similar to...Ch. 4 - Explain how Kapler’s lows contradict uniform...Ch. 4 - What is the difference between a hypothesis ,...
Ch. 4 - How did The Alfonsine Tables, The Prutenic Tables,...Ch. 4 - Review Galileo’s telescopic discoveries and...Ch. 4 - Galileo was condemned by the Inquisition, but...Ch. 4 - How do Newton’s laws lead you to conclude that...Ch. 4 - Explain why you might describe the orbital motion...Ch. 4 - Prob. 16RQCh. 4 - How Do We know? How would you respond to someone...Ch. 4 - Prob. 18RQCh. 4 - How Do We Know? Why is it important that a...Ch. 4 - Science historian Thomas Kuhn has said that De...Ch. 4 - Many historians suspect that Galileo offended Pope...Ch. 4 - Prob. 3DQCh. 4 - If you lived on Mars, which planets would describe...Ch. 4 - Galileo’s telescope showed him that Venus has a...Ch. 4 - Galileo’s telescopes were not of high quality by...Ch. 4 - If a planet had an average distance from the Sun...Ch. 4 - If a space probe were sent into an orbit around...Ch. 4 - Neptune orbits the Sun with a period of 164.8...Ch. 4 - Venus’s average distance from the Sun is 0.72 AU...Ch. 4 - The circular velocity of Earth around the Sun is...Ch. 4 - What is the orbital velocity of an Earth satellite...Ch. 4 - Prob. 1LTLCh. 4 - Prob. 2LTLCh. 4 - Why is it a little bit misleading to say that this...Ch. 4 - Prob. 4LTLCh. 4 - Mercury’s orbit hardly deviates from a circle, but...
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- On what did Plato base his knowledge? Was it opinions, policies, marketing, public relations, myths, evidence, hypotheses, beliefs, laws, principles, theories? On what do modern astronomers base their knowledge?arrow_forwardWhat two factors made it difficult, at first, for astronomers to choose between the Copernican heliocentric model and the Ptolemaic geocentric model?arrow_forwardIn Ptolemys model, how do the epicycles of Mercury and Venus differ from those of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn?arrow_forward
- Suppose Eratosthenes’ results for Earth’s circumference were quite accurate. If the diameter of Earth is 12,740 km, what is the length of his stadium in kilometers?arrow_forwardHow did the Greek’s view the Universe during their time?arrow_forwardSuppose Eratosthenes’ results for Earth’s circumference were quite accurate. If the diameter of Earth is 12,740 km, what is the length of his stadium in kilometers?arrow_forward
- Why did Ptolemy have to introduce multiple circles of motion for the planets instead of a single, simple circle to represent the planet’s motion around the Sun?arrow_forwardWhich two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) shapes did Plato and Aristotle consider perfect? Give an example of a 2D and 3D nonperfect geometrical shape.arrow_forward
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