copernicus
Epicycles were used in ancient astronomy to explain planetary motion within a geocentric model. They involved the idea of planets moving in small circles (epicycles) while also moving along a larger path around the Earth.
The geocentric system uses epicycles in order to create a model in which the earth is in the center of the solar system and the planets and sun look the way they actually look from the earth with the naked eye. The idea of epicycles was added by Ptolemy because without them his model was not consistent with what the ancients recorded about the position of the planets, the sun and the moon. It was important that the model be consistent with observation since the model was used for navigation and land travel. Once the telescope came into being it was evident that the geocentric model (which included the epicycles) was not consistent with was now observable in the sky, such as the way that Venus looked at different times of years (the phases of Venus). Therefore the geocentric model was abandoned for the heliocentric model. The heliocentric model's predicted movements that were closer to what was observable with the new technology. The heliocentric model does not "need" epicycles, in fact they would lead to false predictions inconsistent with what was observable.
The observed retrograde motion of planets led Ptolemy to add epicycles to Aristotle's system. Epicycles were small circles that planets moved in on their larger circular orbits around Earth in order to explain the appearances of retrograde motion.
Ptolemy included epicycles in his model to explain the retrograde motion of planets, where they appear to temporarily move backward in the sky. The epicycles were small circles that planets moved on while the center of the epicycle itself moved around Earth, providing a way to account for these complex observed movements within a geocentric system.
Copernicus proposed a new model of the planets as they move among the stars, and it was published in 1543, the year he died. The model was similar to Ptolemy's model that had been used for 1400 years, in that it used circles and epicycles. The difference was that the new theory had the Sun at the centre instead of the Earth. Copernicus said it was a simpler model, and it was in a sense. It had just as many or even more epicycles to allow for the eccentricity of the planets' orbits and their inclination to the ecliptic (as now understood), but the epicycles were reduced in size, in some cases by a lot. In the Ptolemaic model each planet had its major epicycle approximately equal to the size of the Earth's orbit (as we know know), while Copernicus's model used much smaller epicycles. However both models were rejected when Kepler came up with his idea that the orbits are ellipses, and, later, Newton's discoveries showed why they have to be ellipses. So the earlier models were consigned to the history books - except for the idea of having the Sun at the centre.
Epicycles were used in ancient astronomy to explain planetary motion within a geocentric model. They involved the idea of planets moving in small circles (epicycles) while also moving along a larger path around the Earth.
In ancient Greek astronomy, the concept of epicycles was proposed by astronomers like Eudoxus and later refined by Ptolemy in his geocentric model of the universe. The idea of epicycles involved planets moving in small circles on larger circles around the Earth to explain their observed retrograde motion.
geocentric model & epicycles
epicycles
In the Ptolemaic system, the motions of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn were described with epicycles. These epicycles were small circles that the planets were thought to move in while also orbiting the Earth on larger deferent circles.
The geocentric system uses epicycles in order to create a model in which the earth is in the center of the solar system and the planets and sun look the way they actually look from the earth with the naked eye. The idea of epicycles was added by Ptolemy because without them his model was not consistent with what the ancients recorded about the position of the planets, the sun and the moon. It was important that the model be consistent with observation since the model was used for navigation and land travel. Once the telescope came into being it was evident that the geocentric model (which included the epicycles) was not consistent with was now observable in the sky, such as the way that Venus looked at different times of years (the phases of Venus). Therefore the geocentric model was abandoned for the heliocentric model. The heliocentric model's predicted movements that were closer to what was observable with the new technology. The heliocentric model does not "need" epicycles, in fact they would lead to false predictions inconsistent with what was observable.
The observed retrograde motion of planets led Ptolemy to add epicycles to Aristotle's system. Epicycles were small circles that planets moved in on their larger circular orbits around Earth in order to explain the appearances of retrograde motion.
He came up with the elegant idea that the Sun was at the centre of the Solar System and that the planets revolved around it. A slightly more technical answer: His idea was based on the simplification of the epicyclic model by Ptolemy. The Ptolemic model had many epicycles(over 70) to describe the celestial objects, whereas by putting the Sun at the centre, the number of epicycles were reduced to about 30. I thought I should mention this since this is a deep idea in physics, that nature simplifies and optimizes, more precisely Nature follows the path of least action (in rare cases maximum action). Hope my answer helped, cheers!:)
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