Aristotle's theory of the solar system explained

NARRATOR: Aristotle's influence in learned circles was such that even centuries after his death he was known simply as "the philosopher." Aristotle saw the cosmos divided into two realms--the terrestrial and the celestial. The terrestrial realm included the Earth, the Moon, and the space between them, called the sublunar region. The terrestrial realm was marked by change and imperfection. The celestial realm was the region above the Moon. Here, there was complete order and perfection.

Aristotle's model shows the planets in the celestial realm moving around the Earth in an orderly manner, in perfect circles and with uniform motion--neither speeding up nor slowing down. As a philosophy, this model worked very well; however, it did not explain why planets appeared to slow down and speed up in their movements. Nevertheless, Aristotle's universe was the accepted model until the 17th century.