The Center of the Universe - Essay Example

The proponents of Geocentrism believed that the earth was the center of the universe. This concept was promoted by Aristotle and other philosophers. This belief was highly associated with religious beliefs. Ptolemy (AD 90-AD 168) explained this model by depicting different layers of space among which the outermost was heaven where God and angels dwelled (Denecke, Carr, 2006, pp.18-19). A similar earth-centered concept was popular all over the world. ‘Genesis’ the book of The Holy Bible was the major influence of this idea.

According to the book, God created the earth first and then created the sun, moon, and all-stars to adorn it because the earth was the residence of his own image Adam. According to this model, the earth is at rest, and the sun, moon, and other planets move according to God’s command. Among these two, the sun-centered model was introduced by Aristarchus (310 BC-230 BC). According to this theory, the sun is the center of the whole universe, and all other heavenly bodies including the earth, stars, and other planets go around it.

However, the theory was not accepted for several centuries until in 16th century AD Nicholaus Copernicus reintroduced it.