From our prime position on the third planet out from the Sun, we're finally understanding how our solar neighbourhood came to be.
Asking questions about where we come from is one of the traits that marks us out as distinctly human. Yet this inquisitive streak hasn’t always led us in the right direction, particularly when we think we are more important than we ultimately are. The story of our quest to discover how our Solar System formed is littered with false starts, and one that astronomers are still refining.
The world’s greatest thinkers originally had the Earth at the centre of creation, with the Sun, Moon, planets and stars circling around us. It’s an idea that lasted for more than 1,000 years, dating back to the days of Aristotle and Ancient Greece. It wasn’t until the Polish astronomer and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus challenged this idea in the 16th Century that the tide of opinion started to shift. He said that the planets – including Earth – orbit around the central Sun. Copernicus was so fearful of the inevitable backlash from religious quarters that he delayed publication of his work until after his death. Legend has it that he only saw a copy on his deathbed.
Galileo! Galileo!
It would take many decades for experimental evidence to confirm that we do indeed live in a ‘solar system’. It was mostly the work of the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei in the early 1600s that cemented the idea. It wasn’t all plain sailing, of course. Galileo famously had his own run-ins with the Church, and he was only officially pardoned in 1992. But as far as the science was concerned, the clincher came when he observed the planet Venus waxing and waning through phases, much like the Moon. This isn’t possible if both Venus and the Sun orbit around the Earth – only if both planets circle a central source of illumination. So we took our place as just another one of the Sun’s family of planets.
Denne historien er fra Christmas 2016-utgaven av BBC Focus - Science & Technology.
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Denne historien er fra Christmas 2016-utgaven av BBC Focus - Science & Technology.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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WHEN'S THE BEST TIME FOR A CAFFEINE HIT?
Wakey-wakey! Find the sweet spot for a coffee shot and science says the benefits are grande
DEAD MAN’S FINGERS
Picture the scene. It's Halloween and you've gone for an ill-advised stroll through the graveyard on the edge of town.
What tipping point are climate scientists most worried about?
Collapsing ice sheets, loss of the Amazon rainforest, melting permafrost.……. Key parts of Earth's climate system are in trouble. Which could trigger disaster first?
PROFESSOR BRIAN COX
The biggest space missions yet are making their way to new parts of the Universe. In his new BBC Two series Solar System, Prof Brian Cox reveals what these explorations are discovering about life in our galactic neighbourhood. Noa Leach sat down with him to talk about the most exciting new missions, life in the Universe and his top behind-the-scenes moments of filming
KEEP YOUR HAIR ON
MORE THAN HALF OF MEN AND MILLIONS OF WOMEN ARE AFFECTED BY HAIR LOSS. IT CAUSES LOW SELF-ESTEEM IN SOME AND ANXIETY IN OTHERS. THANKFULLY, SCIENTISTS AROUND THE WORLD ARE GETTING TO THE ROOTS OF THE PROBLEM WITH PIONEERING NEW TREATMENTS
DAMAGE ASSESSMENT
Could we deflect an asteroid to stop it from hitting Earth? The success of NASA's DART mission suggests so, but only after ESA's soon-to-launch Hera mission has checked the results will we know if this approach to planetary defence is a viable possibility
SAVE THE SHARKS...SAVE THE OCEANS
RUTHLESS PREDATORS, MINDLESS KILLERS, MAN-EATERS... SHARKS HAVE A FEARSOME REPUTATION THAT BEARS LITTLE RELATION TO REALITY. THE TRUTH IS, THESE REMARKABLE CREATURES ARE STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE. BUT OUR WATERS WON'T BE ANY SAFER WITHOUT THEM. IN FACT, THE PLANET'S SEAS WILL BE IN EVEN GREATER JEOPARDY THAN THEY ALREADY ARE
COULD ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BE THE CURE FOR LONELINESS?
Rates of loneliness are increasing worldwide. But big-tech companies think they have the solution...
Olive mill wastewater: a health-boosting tonic hiding in the leftovers
A by-product of the olive oil production process is packed with compounds that lower your cholesterol and reduce your risk of developing cancer.
Lab-grown meat may be better for livestock, but not necessarily for the environment
The move to put alternative protein on our plates is gathering pace but there are still questions to answer
