Exam 2: The Copernican Revolution: the Birth of Modern Science

In Ptolemy's geocentric model, the normal eastward motion of the planets was along

For Galileo, the observation of the phases of proved that Ptolemy's geocentric model with epicycles was wrong.

's theories were based on the very accurate observations made by .

Why do Newton's Laws show a force must be acting on the planets?

What "imperfections" on the Moon were visible to Galileo's telescopes?

The speed of light (and radio waves) is 300,000 km/s. How far away is a spacecraft if its radio signal takes 10 minutes to reach Earth?

The model of used circular deferents and epicycles in a geocentric universe to explain planetary motions.

Explain how Kepler's laws allow us to use the motion of an asteroid to find its average distance from the Sun.

Compared to when it was on the surface, a satellite in an orbit whose radius is about 4 times the Earth's radius will experience about 1/16 the force due to the Earth's gravity.

According to Newton's third law, when the Voyager probes passed Jupiter in 1979, they exerted exactly the same force on Jupiter as the giant planet did on them.

According to Copernicus, the retrograde motion for Mars must occur

How did Ptolemy explain the retrograde motion of Venus?

How can astronomers determine the mass of the Sun?

Galileo's observations of the entire phase cycle of Venus proved that Ptolemy's epicycles could not be correct in keeping Venus between us and the Sun.

In Ptolemy's geocentric model, retrograde motion occurs when the planet is closest to us, on the inside portion of the

Explain how the eccentricity describes the shape of an ellipse.

How did Tycho's detailed observations of Mars' brightness help show that its orbit could not be circular?

The hypothesis is that the Earth does not occupy any special place in the universe.

Explain how the telescopic discoveries of Galileo could be used in support of Copernicus.

According to Newton's laws, the planets orbit the Sun due to .