Scholars before the 1500’s referred to ancient Greek or Roman Philosophers or the Bible for truths about the material world. The spirit of curiosity spurred by the Renaissance, late 1300’s in Italy, prompted scholars to begin to carefully observe nature for their selves for answers.

Aristotle (4th Century B.C. Greece) Geocentric theory was widely believed by many medieval scholars. It was the view that the center of the universe with sun, moon and planets orbit the earth in perfect circles. Ptolemy (Greek astronomer) and the church further supported this idea.

Scientific Revolution began in the mid 1500’s with scholars publishing works that challenged the ideas of the geocentric theory of the ancient thinkers and the church. It was a new way of thinking about the natural world by using careful observational questioning accepted beliefs.

• This revolution was spread by a combination of discoveries and circumstances. Contributions from translated Muslim scholars’ works added new thoughts in astronomy, physics, and math.
• Many newly discovered ancient text were studied which seemed to contradict each other
• European explorers traveled to Africa, Asia, and the Americas discovering new lands, people and animals. This opened European scholars to the possibility of new truths to be found.
• European explorers also prompted invitation in astronomy and mathematics in a quest for better instrument and geographic measurements to determine their location
• The printing press helped spread both old and new ideas which challenged the established beliefs

The Heliocentric Theory was developed by Nicolas Copernicus because the geocentric theories did not accurately explain the movements of the sun, moon, and planets. He used an obscure Greek idea that the sun was in the center and student planetary movements for more than 25 years to reason that the star, the earth and the other planets revolved around the sun. It did not completely explain why the planets orbited the way they did feared ridicule and rejection from most scholars and clergy. He did not publish his work, on the revolutions of the heavenly bodies, until 1543. He received a copy on his death bed.

Tycho Brache built upon Copernicus’s theory and carefully studied the movements of the plants for many years. Upon his death, his assistant, mathematician Johannes Kepler, continued his work. Through mathematical laws, Kepler established the planets revolved around the sun in elliptical orbits. This demonstrated mathematically that Copernicus was right and the planet revolved around the sun.

Galileo Galilei was on Italian student who discovered that Aristotle’s belief that a pendulum swings at a slower rhythm as it approaches it nesting place to be false. He measured the swing of a chandeliers swing by using a pulse as a liner and discovered the law of the pendulum. Galileo also found that objects fall at a fixed and predictable rate. Legend says that he dropped stones of different weights from the Leaning Tower of Pisa and calculated how fast each fell. He determined that each fell at the same speed. He also improved upon a Dutch lens maker’s instrument and developed his own telescope. His findings were published in a series of newsletter called Starry Messenger. He published finding such as his laws of motion, the announcement that Jupiter had four moons, the sun had dark spots, and the moon had a rough surface.