Page 25 - Cografya web edition

ÜNİTE 1
DOĞAL SİSTEMLER

VIEWS ON THE SHAPE OF THE EARTH THROUGHT HISTORY

From past to present, many scientists who are interested in astronomy have
conveyed their opinions about Earth. There have been both scientists who thought that
sky is shaped like a box and scientists who thought that we live on a tray on a bull’s horns.
Until 4000 years ago, Egyptians had thought that Earth was a long box. They also had
accepted sky as a cover.

Ancient Indians accepted that Earth’s shape was a circle on an elephant’s back. It was
also thought that there were 4 elephants which stood on a turtle.

At the time, developing science led people to present their opinions freely. But their
opinions remained a theory and never became law. Moreover, it had been thought that
Earth was on a plane tray and it stood on an ox’s horns. Although some scientists expressed
their thoughts that Earth was round-shaped, they couldn’t prove it. In 590 B.C., Pythagoras
was one of the first people who expressed that Earth rotated around the Sun and Earth was
round-shaped. Pythagoras’ opinions were proved with Aristo’s observations after almost
200 years.

EXERCISES

1. ________________ is a science which explains celestial bodies’ positions and moves, distances among them
and their structures in terms of physics and chemistry.

2. In ________________ times, there were lots of civilizations such as, Mayas, Aztecs, Olmecs etc. which needed
to use astronomy.

3. In 1543, Copernicus’ book which is called ‘de revolutionibus orbium caelestium’ ________________ to revolu-
tion about astronomy and cosmology.

4. According to Copernicus’ ________________, universe has not got a geocentric system, but it has got helio-
centric system.

5. In Renaissance Period, there were many precious ________________ which studied astronomy, such as,

Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, Nicolaus Copernicus etc.

6. In 17th century, Kepler ________________ that Earth’s orbit is elliptical, not circle.

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