He published his views in On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres the year he died.
Johannes Kepler was a German astronomer. He used mathematics to work out how the planets moved. He proved that Copernicus was right about the sun being the centre of the universe. But he said Copernicus was wrong to say that the planets moved around the sun in circles. ● Instead, Kepler said their orbits were elliptical (oval). This was one of his three laws of planetary motion. These laws led to Isaac Newton’s law of gravity later in the 17th century.
Johannes Kepler
Astronomy is the study of the universe, including the planets and stars.
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Ptolemy’s view of the universe. Why did the Catholic Church support this view of the Earth- centred universe?
This is Copernicus’ view of the universe. Why, do you think, Copernicus was afraid to publish his views about the sun being at the centre of the universe?
What significant contributions did Galileo make to Renaissance science?
Galileo was born in Pisa, Italy in 1564. He studied mathematics and physics. He became Professor of Mathematics in the University of Pisa in 1589. Three years later he became Professor of Mathematics in Padua.
1 Scientific method
● Galileo said that scientists must base their results on experiments and evidence. ‘Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so.’
● He said physics must be based on mathematics. ● Einstein, one of the greatest 20th-century scientists, said of Galileo, ‘Because Galileo saw that ideas need to be tested, and particularly because he drummed it into the scientific world, he is the father of modern physics – indeed of modern science altogether.’