Finding our place in the solar system : the scientific story of the Copernican revolution / Todd Timberlake, Paul Wallace.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Finding our Place in the Solar System' gives a detailed account of how the Earth was displaced from its traditional position at the center of the universe to be recognized as one of several planets orbiting the Sun under the influence of a universal gravitational force. The transition from the ancient geocentric worldview to a modern understanding of planetary motion, often called the Copernican Revolution, is one of the great intellectual achievements of humankind. This book provides a deep yet accessible explanation of the scientific disputes over our place in the solar system and the work of the great scientists who helped settle them. Readers will come away knowing not just that the Earth orbits the Sun, but why we believe that it does so. The Copernican Revolution also provides an excellent case study of what science is and how it works.

Cover; Half-title; Title page; Copyright information; Dedication; Contents; Preface; 1 Introduction: mysterious skies; 1.1 Three mysteries; 1.2 Why should you read this book?; 1.3 The nature of science; 1.4 Changing knowledge; 2 Two spheres: modeling the heavens and the Earth; 2.1 Watching the stars; 2.1.1 The circling skies; 2.1.2 Numbers on the sky; 2.2 Tracking the Sun; 2.2.1 Changing seasons; 2.2.2 Sticks and shadows; 2.2.3 The ecliptic circle; 2.2.4 Constellations of the zodiac; 2.3 Around the Earth; 2.3.1 North and south; 2.3.2 The Earth's curve; 2.3.3 A matter of time

2.4 Precession: a third sphere2.5 Reflections on science; 3 Wanderers: the Moon and the planets; 3.1 The ever-changing Moon; 3.1.1 The Moon's motion against the stars; 3.1.2 Lunar phases; 3.1.3 Lunar calendars; 3.2 Eclipses: hiding the Sun and Moon; 3.3 Solar and lunar distances; 3.3.1 Aristarchus on the distances and sizes; 3.3.2 Parallax: watching from two places at once; 3.4 The wandering stars; 3.4.1 Strange motions; 3.4.2 Inferior planets; 3.4.3 Superior planets; 3.5 Reflections on science; 3.5.1 Categories and classification; 3.5.2 Correlation and causation

3.5.3 The power of mathematics3.5.4 Astronomical vocabulary; 4 An Earth-centered cosmos: astronomy and cosmology from Eudoxus to Regiomontanus; 4.1 Spheres within spheres; 4.1.1 The homocentric spheres of Eudoxus; 4.1.2 The Eudoxan planets; 4.1.3 Refinements and flaws; 4.2 Ancient Greek cosmology: Plato and Aristotle; 4.2.1 Plato's cosmology; 4.2.2 The Aristotelian cosmos; 4.2.3 Aristotle's physics; 4.3 Heavenly circles and predictive astronomy; 4.3.1 Epicycles and eccentrics; 4.3.2 The greatest: Ptolemy's Almagest; 4.3.3 The Planetary Hypotheses; 4.4 Astronomy and cosmology after Ptolemy

4.4.1 Criticisms of Ptolemy4.4.2 Criticism of Aristotle; 4.4.3 New additions; 4.5 Reflections on science (and history of science); 5 Moving the Earth: the revolutions of Copernicus; 5.1 On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres; 5.2 Copernican planetary theory; 5.3 The order of the heavens; 5.4 Problems and purpose; 5.5 Reflections on science; 6 Instruments of reform: Tycho's restoration of observational astronomy; 6.1 The reception of De revolutionibus; 6.2 The noble astronomer; 6.3 Breaking the spheres; 6.4 Stars against Copernicus; 6.5 The Tychonic system; 6.6 Reflections on science

7 Physical causes: Kepler's new astronomy7.1 The secret of the universe; 7.2 A new astronomy from physical causes; 7.3 The war on Mars; 7.4 The harmony of the world; 7.5 Reflections on science; 8 Seeing beyond Aristotle: Galileo's controversies; 8.1 Message from the stars; 8.2 Many controversies; 8.3 Moving beyond Aristotle; 8.4 Astronomy after Galileo; 8.5 Reflections on science; 9 The system of the world: Newton's universal physics; 9.1 Curious characters: Newton and Hooke; 9.1.1 Isaac Newton; 9.1.2 Robert Hooke; 9.2 Letters between rivals; 9.3 The Principia: Books I and II

Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on April 30, 2019).

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