Early telescopes supported which view about the Solar System?

Early telescopes supported which view about the Solar System?

• A. The Sun and not the Earth is the center of the universe.
• B. The Earth is the center of the universe.
• C. The Moon orbits Mars.
• D. The Sun orbits the Earth.

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that early telescope observations supported a Sun-centered solar system. When Galileo observed phases of Venus and moons orbiting planets like Jupiter, it showed that not everything circles the Earth. Venus’s varying phases require Venus to orbit the Sun, and moons around other planets prove that bodies can orbit something other than Earth. Taken together, these findings align with the Sun being at the center with the planets, including Earth, orbiting it. The idea that the Sun orbits the Earth, or that the Moon orbits Mars, doesn’t fit what the telescopes revealed.

The main idea here is that early telescope observations supported a Sun-centered solar system. When Galileo observed phases of Venus and moons orbiting planets like Jupiter, it showed that not everything circles the Earth. Venus’s varying phases require Venus to orbit the Sun, and moons around other planets prove that bodies can orbit something other than Earth. Taken together, these findings align with the Sun being at the center with the planets, including Earth, orbiting it. The idea that the Sun orbits the Earth, or that the Moon orbits Mars, doesn’t fit what the telescopes revealed.