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Article: Solar System Geometry, Modern Understandings of
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Solar System Geometry, Modern Understandings of
Aristarchus (c. 310 b.c.e.
–
230 b.c.e.), an ancient Greek mathematician and astronomer, made the first claim that the planets of the solar system orbit the Sun rather than Earth. However, it was Nicolas Copernicus (1473
–
1543) who would spur modern investigations that would ultimately overthrow the ancient view of a
geocentric
universe. Johannes Kepler (1571
–
1630) and Galileo Galilei (1564
–
1642) initially carried out these investigations. Through the work of Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo, the geocentric view of circular orbits with constant
velocities
was gradually replaced by a
heliocentric
perspective ...