Friday, April 22, 2011

Geocentric universe

Bartolomeu Velho 1568 Here is a medieval geocentric view of the universe.

The caption says:
Figure of the heavenly bodies - Illuminated illustration of the Ptolemaic geocentric conception of the Universe by Portuguese cosmographer and cartographer Bartolomeu Velho (?-1568). From his work Cosmographia, made in France, 1568 (Bibilotèque nationale de France, Paris). Notice the distances of the bodies to the centre of the Earth (left) and the times of revolution, in years (right).
and
The Ptolemaic geocentric model of the Universe according to the Portuguese cosmographer and cartographer Bartolomeu Velho (Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris).
I would not call it a "Ptolemaic geocentric conception" or "model". Ptolemy's Almagest is the great book on this subject, and it had many diagrams, but none like this. The model does not use concentric orbs around the Earth, as shown. It does not predict distances from the Earth at all.