Copernicus's revolutionary theory: The Sun as the center

NARRATOR: By the 16th century, Ptolemy's geocentric system had accrued many problems. The position of the Sun and planets was not where Ptolemy had predicted, and there was dispute in the order of the planets. Nicolaus Copernicus resolved these problems by placing the Sun in the center of the system. This was a revolutionary concept, and it raised some new problems. But it was elegant and could count for retrograde motion. For Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn retrograde motion occurred when the Earth, moving more quickly in its orbit, overtook one of the outer planets. Likewise, the retrograde motion of Mercury and Venus occurred when these planets overtook and passed the Earth. The Copernican system also firmly placed Mercury closest to the Sun and Venus between Mercury and Earth. Unlike Ptolemaic models, its heliocentric order could not be amended without destroying the entire system.