| In the 16th century, Nicolaus Copernicus developed the heliocentric model of the solar system, in which the Sun is stationary at the center, and Earth moves around it. This view of the solar system challenged Ptolemy’s geocentric model, which had been the accepted theory since the 2nd century. In Ptolemy’s model, Earth is stationary in the center of the solar system, and the other planets and the Sun move in complex orbits around it. The Copernican model gradually gained acceptance, because it provided a simpler explanation of the planets' motions. |
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