Join some of history's greatest thinkers and learn how their theories evolved from the earliest ideas to our modern conception of the solar system.

Aristotle's Vision
Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher and scientist, proposed that the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars were attached to nested, concentric crystalline spheres, centred on Earth. These turned uniformly to create the cycles of day and night, the planetary motions, and so on. Although this theory was generally accepted at the time, it could not explain the contrary phenomenon of retrograde motion. Watch this video.

The Ptolemeic System
The Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy built on the basic principles of Aristotle's system, but in order to explain retrograde motion of the planets, he refined a complex geometric model of cycles within cycles. This method was successful at predicting the planet's positions in the sky. The Ptolemaic system was the official dogma of Western Christendom until the 1500s. Watch the video.

The Copernican Revolution
In the 16th century, Nicolaus Copernicus espoused a theory that Earth and the other planets revolve around the Sun. This idea was contrary to the generally accepted Ptolemaic theory. Dethronement of Earth from the centre of the universe caused profound shock: the Copernican system challenged the entire system of ancient authority and required a complete change in the philosophical conception of the universe. Watch the video.

Laws of Planetary Motion
In the early 1600s, astronomers were beginning to accept the idea that Earth and the planets revolve around the Sun. Astronomers were still unable, however, to describe the motions of the planets with any accuracy. The German astronomer Johannes Kepler was finally able to account for planetary motions using ellipses rather than perfect circles for the orbits of the planets and applying three mathematical expressions, which came to be known as Kepler's laws of planetary motion. Watch the video.