The description and use of the globes and the orrery: To which is prefix'd, by way of introduction, a brief account of the solar system — John Shaqi
The description and use of the globes and the orrery: To which is prefix'd, by way of introduction, a brief account of the solar systemHarris, Joseph
History
The description and use of the globes and the orrery: To which is prefix'd, by way of introduction, a brief account of the solar system
Harris, Joseph
Astronomical models; Globes
It is proved in the same way, that _Jupiter_ and _Saturn_ have both
the Sun and the Earth within their Orbits, and that the Sun, and not
the Earth, is the center of their motions; altho’ the disproportion of
the distances from the Earth is not so great in _Jupiter_, as it is in
_Mars_, nor so great in _Saturn_, as it is in _Jupiter_, by reason that
they are at a much greater distance from the Sun.
[Sidenote: _Inferior_ and _Superior Planets_.]
We have now shewn that all the Planets turn round the Sun, and that
_Mercury_ and _Venus_ are included between him and the Earth, whence
they are called the _Inferior Planets_, and that the Earth is placed
between the Orbits of _Mars_ and _Venus_, and therefore included within
the Orbits of _Mars_, _Jupiter_, and _Saturn_, whence they are called
the _Superior Planets_: And since the Earth is in the middle of these
moveable bodies, and is of the same nature with them, we may conclude
that she has the same sort of motions; but that she turns round the Sun
is proved thus:
[Sidenote: The Earth does not stand still, but turns round the Sun.]
[Sidenote: _Fig. 4._]
All the Planets seen from the Earth appear to move very unequally,
as sometimes to go faster, at other times slower; sometimes to go
backwards, and sometimes to be stationary, or not to move at all; which
could not happen if the Earth stood still. Let S be the Sun, T the
Earth, the great circle A B C D the Orbit of _Mars_, and the numbers 1,
2, 3, _&c._ its equable motion round the Sun; the correspondent numbers
1, 2, 3, _&c._ in the circle _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_, the motion of _Mars_,
as it would be seen from the Earth. It is plain from this Figure,
that if the Earth stood still, the motion of _Mars_, will be always
progressive, (tho’ sometimes very unequal;) but since observations
prove the contrary, it necessarily follows, that the Earth turns round
the Sun.
[Sidenote: The Annual and Diurnal Motions of the Planets, how computed.]
The annual periods of the Planets round the Sun are determined by
carefully observing the length of time since their departure from
a certain point in the Heavens, (or from a fix’d Star) until they
arrive to the same again. By these sort of observations the ancients
determined the periodical revolutions of the Planets round the
Sun, and were so exact in their computations, as to be capable of
predicting Eclipses of the Sun and Moon. But since the invention of
telescopes, astronomical observations are made with greater accuracy;
and of consequence, our tables are far more perfect than those of
the ancients. And in order to be as exact as possible, astronomers
compare observations made at a great distance of time from one another,
including several periods; by which means, the error that might be in
the whole, is in each period subdivided into such little parts as to be
inconsiderable. Thus the mean length of a Solar Year is known, even to
Seconds.
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