Galileo and Venus

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gi_joe

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Hello,<br /><br />I recently watched the Nova broadcast about Galileo's life. One point they made was that Galileo became convinced that the Earth moved about the Sun because he observed the planet Venus going through phases. Nova implied that Galileo understood this as conclusive proof of the Earth's motion. I don't understand this.<br /><br />After some research on the net, I found other sites that said that Venus progressing through phases was "evidence for the fact that Earth moves about the Sun" but that it wasn't by any means conclusive.<br /><br />What I don't understand is why seeing Venus progress through phases would be such an amazing breakthrough. After all, the Earth's Moon goes through phases, and it goes around the Earth, as was assumed did all the other planets.<br /><br />I would think that seeing Venus go through phases would be exactly what Galileo would have expected to see. <br /><br />Can anyone explain this to me?<br /><br />Thanks much!
 
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gi_joe

Guest
Hello,<br /><br />I recently watched the Nova broadcast about Galileo's life. One point they made was that Galileo became convinced that the Earth moved about the Sun because he observed the planet Venus going through phases. Nova implied that Galileo understood this as conclusive proof of the Earth's motion. I don't understand this.<br /><br />After some research on the net, I found other sites that said that Venus progressing through phases was "evidence for the fact that Earth moves about the Sun" but that it wasn't by any means conclusive.<br /><br />What I don't understand is why seeing Venus progress through phases would be such an amazing breakthrough. After all, the Earth's Moon goes through phases, and it goes around the Earth, as was assumed did all the other planets.<br /><br />I would think that seeing Venus go through phases would be exactly what Galileo would have expected to see. <br /><br />Can anyone explain this to me?<br /><br />Thanks much!
 
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alokmohan

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We never sa phases of venus .Galileo could see i because he had a telescope.Whether it is conclsive of heliocentric thory is doubtful.When galileo discovered four big moons ofjupiter then of course none doubted that earth isnot center of earth.
 
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alokmohan

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We never sa phases of venus .Galileo could see i because he had a telescope.Whether it is conclsive of heliocentric thory is doubtful.When galileo discovered four big moons ofjupiter then of course none doubted that earth isnot center of earth.
 
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Leovinus

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How about this: When Venus is a crescent, it has a large diameter. When it is more full, it has a small diameter. This is different than the Moon which maintains the same diameter. One could then conclude that Venus was not orbiting the Earth which would maintain a constant diameter; rather it must be orbiting the source of light (Sun). <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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Leovinus

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How about this: When Venus is a crescent, it has a large diameter. When it is more full, it has a small diameter. This is different than the Moon which maintains the same diameter. One could then conclude that Venus was not orbiting the Earth which would maintain a constant diameter; rather it must be orbiting the source of light (Sun). <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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alokmohan

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Petinent point.How do you manage to remain solar system after catastrope?
 
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alokmohan

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Petinent point.How do you manage to remain solar system after catastrope?
 
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nacnud

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I think he means, how did you keep your post count?<br /><br />Is that right alokmohan?
 
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nacnud

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I think he means, how did you keep your post count?<br /><br />Is that right alokmohan?
 
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Saiph

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he's a cluster now, Congrats shuttle-guy. That takes some doing.<br /><br />My answer for how he kept it: Luck. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p align="center"><font color="#c0c0c0"><br /></font></p><p align="center"><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">----</font></em></font><font color="#666699">SaiphMOD@gmail.com </font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">-------------------</font></em></font></p><p><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">"This is my Timey Wimey Detector.  Goes "bing" when there's stuff.  It also fries eggs at 30 paces, wether you want it to or not actually.  I've learned to stay away from hens: It's not pretty when they blow" -- </font></em></font><font size="1" color="#999999">The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>
 
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Saiph

Guest
he's a cluster now, Congrats shuttle-guy. That takes some doing.<br /><br />My answer for how he kept it: Luck. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p align="center"><font color="#c0c0c0"><br /></font></p><p align="center"><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">----</font></em></font><font color="#666699">SaiphMOD@gmail.com </font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">-------------------</font></em></font></p><p><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">"This is my Timey Wimey Detector.  Goes "bing" when there's stuff.  It also fries eggs at 30 paces, wether you want it to or not actually.  I've learned to stay away from hens: It's not pretty when they blow" -- </font></em></font><font size="1" color="#999999">The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>
 
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