Astronomical Images : System of the World according to Copernicus

Jean-Baptiste Morin

Astronomical Images

<p style='text-align: justify;'>This image is from <i>Famosi et antiqui problematis de telluris motu, vel quiete; hactenus optata solutio</i> [A desirable solution to the notorious and ancient problem of the Earth's motion or rest], published in Paris in 1631 by the astrologer and Professor of Mathematics at the Collège de France, Jean-Baptiste Morin. This figure presents 'The System of the World according to Copernicus'. As noted by S. K. Heninger, this diagram shows a large space between the sphere of Saturn and that of the fixed stars, probably on the basis of Tycho Brahe's inability to detect stellar parallax. Unlike Morin's diagrams of the systems of Ptolemy and Tycho, this figure shows no <i>primum mobile</i>.</p>