Johannes Kepler
Copernicus’s model, with the Sun at the centre of the Universe
An astronomer who revealed how the PLANETS ORBIT the Sun Planetary puzzle
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German astronomer Johannes Kepler initially agreed with Copernicus’s theory that the Sun is at the centre of the Universe, with the planets orbiting it in CIRCULAR PATHS. However, this did not explain the movements of the planets as seen from Earth.
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Redrawing the Universe
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Kepler worked closely with leading Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. Using Brahe’s data, Kepler CALCULATED that each planet moves around the Sun in an oval path, known as an elliptical orbit. He also observed that planets’ speeds vary according to their distances from the Sun. These ideas formed the basis of his laws of planetary movement.