Question

how did astronomers develop the current model of the solar system? learning the history of development of astronomical models of the solar system will help you in this course in two ways: first, it will give you a deeper understanding of the current body of astronomical knowledge, and second, it will demonstrate the process of hypothesis formation, assumption testing, and model development that guides the field today.
in this 25 - minute assignment, you will test each of the historical models of the solar system using the retrograde motion of mars to examine theories and laws from geocentricity to kepler’s third law of planetary motion.
1st attempt
see hint
from our vantage point on earth, it looks like the earth is stationary, and the sun, moon, stars, and planets are orbiting around us. humans believed this geocentric (earth - centered) view of the universe for the majority of history. the geocentric model of the universe looked like the left figure shown, with all celestial objects orbiting earth in perfect circles.
the brightest planets are visible to the naked eye, and they move through the background of the stars from one night to the next. study the picture, which shows mars’s position with respect to the stars over the course of many nights.
what can you conclude from this, assuming that the geocentric model holds that the sun, moon, and planets like mars all orbit around earth in simple circles?
choose one:
a. the geocentric model is wrong because it falsely predicts that mars’s motion is chaotic.
b. the geocentric model is wrong because it falsely predicts that mars should always be stationary with respect to the stars.
c. mars’s motion is consistent with the geocentric model.
d. the geocentric model is wrong because it falsely predicts that mars should always move in the same direction with respect to the stars.

Explanation:

Answer:

D. The geocentric model is wrong because it falsely predicts that Mars should always move in the same direction with respect to the stars.