Astronomy 161 - Introduction To Solar System Astronomy

How do we prove physically that the Earth rotates on its axis and revolves around the Sun? Newtonian physics was so compelling that it was mostly accepted before there were ironclad physical demonstrations of the Earth's daily rotation about its axis and annual revolution (orbit) around the Sun. This lecture reviews three of these demonstrations: the Coriolis Effect, the Foucault Pendulum, and Stellar Parallaxes. This ties up the last loose-end of the Copernican Revolution. Recorded 2006 Oct 19 in 100 Stillman Hall on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University.