Ptolemaic to Copernican World System Continuum
Ptolemaic to Copernican World System Continuum
The beginning of the Copernican revolution was simply a change in viewpoint. This Demonstration lets you continuously change your point of view on the inner solar system from the ancient geocentric perspective (Ptolemaic system) to the new heliocentric one (Copernican system). You can decide to move along the straight line segment connecting the Earth to the Sun or to vary the radius of your heliocentric orbit, thus exploring the hermocentric (with Mercury at the center), aphrodiocentric (with Venus at the center) and areocentric (with Mars at the center) world systems.