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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jacques Chitte who wrote (44006)7/5/1999 9:05:00 PM
From: The Philosopher  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 108807
 
Actually, it's basically a convenience to say what orbits what. Depends entirely on your point of reference. I still recall spending several days of in college doing the mathematical proof that Ptolemy's theory that the sun orbited the Earth on epicycles and epicycles on epicycles was mathematically identical to Copernicus's theory that the earth orbited the sun. We could still be using Ptolemy's theories to describe the actions of the planets in our Solar System if we wanted to. (Gets a bit more difficult when you start tossing in the fixed starts, but can still work as long as you posit enough epicircular fixed start globes.)



To: Jacques Chitte who wrote (44006)7/6/1999 12:57:00 AM
From: Father Terrence  Respond to of 108807
 
Yes, yes, I know. The theory is that if you could make the sun suddenly vanish the earth would still maintain its orbit because it has created a gravity-tunnel through space-time and would continue on its merry way...

But, nevertheless, earth does orbit round the sun, unless, perhaps we someday decide to launch it out of orbit and create a maneuverable bio-space sphere.


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