Can You Make the Copernican Shift?
“Everyone knows” the Sun is the center of our solar system, but only a few can actually reconcile that knowledge with what we see from Earth. Two images below reconstruct views of the sky as seen from Earth. The third image shows the Copernican model of the solar system as viewed from a point far north of the Sun. Can you reconcile the two viewpoints by placing Jupiter, Saturn and Venus at their proper positions in their orbits?
6-December-2021
A view from Earth, showing the positions of Saturn, Jupiter, Venus and the Moon. Images in the background are an Arabic interpretation of star constellations. The grid in degrees shows right ascension and declination, the modern astronomical system for locating points among the fixed constellations. The sun has just disappeared below the horizon at the bottom right.
8-December-2021
Forty-eight hours later, the constellations have shifted in unison, while the planets have moved in a slightly different way. Both images were created using Stellarium, a free desktop planetarium.
Make the Shift
Scroll down for project ideas and links to resources
One of the most important achievements in the history of science was the realization by Nicolaus Copernicus that Earth—despite all appearances—is NOT the center of the universe. His theory that all nearby planets revolve around the sun is now accepted by all scientists, but it remains hard to reconcile with what we see in the sky. Can you make the Copernican shift from the Earth-centered views in the first 2 images above and place the Earth, Sun, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus at the appropriate points in the Sun-centered view?
Questions to consider:
Using just the image from December 6, 2021, can you draw sight lines which show (at least approximately) the relative positions of Venus, Jupiter and Saturn with respect to the Sun? Can you estimate angles in degrees and use a protractor to make the sight lines more precise?
Do the sight lines let you determine the position of each planet in its orbit? Why is Venus a unique challenge?
Can you compare the images from the two dates and determine the direction in which each planet is moving against the background of the constellations? If so, add arrows to your diagram to show the directions. Is there a pattern to the directions?
Computer screens, sheets of paper and our apparent view of the sky are all two dimensional, but the universe has three spatial dimensions. Can you orient a sheet of paper with the planet locations marked so your view actually matches the view from Earth?
Copernicus was influenced by the time in which he lived. Was his decision to place the Sun at the center, surrounded by perfect circles based entirely on scientific data?
Why was the Copernican theory initially so controversial?
Regardless of its origins, why it the Copernican theory so widely accepted today?
The Sun is the center of our solar system, but our Sun is not the center of our galaxy or the universe. Were those shifts as difficult as the Copernican Shift?
Right Ascension and Declination: Celestial Coordinates for Beginners
Sky and Telescope is a popular and reliable resource for people wanting to learn more about eyes-on astronomy. This is a good article explaining the grid system shown in our 2 images.
February 2016: 400 Years Ago the Catholic Church Prohibited Copernicanism
No doubt remains among scientists that Copernicus was right in his radical assertion the Earth moves around the Sun. Serious discussion continues, however, regarding the historical and current relationship between Copernican science and religion. This article by historians at 2 highly respected universities emphasizes “the lesson that the Church should be wary of interfering in scientific matters.”
The Copernican Shift - Max Lucado
There is much room to discuss, investigate and disagree regarding the thousands of historical and religious interpretations of Copernicus. This article is from a very Christian perspective. It is worth remembering that Copernicus himself was deeply Christian and might have shared some of the same ideas.