You know, contrary to
what some people think,
the Earth isn't the center of the Universe.
But what if it was?
What if those medieval astronomers
were right, and everything
does revolve around you?
About one millennium ago,
it was widely accepted
that the Earth
was the center of the Universe.
If you were an ancient human
looking at the night sky,
you'd see the Sun, the Moon and the stars
seeming to rotate around you.
This was the geocentric model
of the Solar System.
It put the Earth
right at the center of it all.
And this model was used for a long time,
from about 550 B.C.E.
until the 17th century.
Eventually, more advanced
scientific observations
and knowledge
meant that this idea
could no longer be supported.
It was replaced by
the heliocentric model,
which places the Sun
at the center of our Solar System.
But just because it's simpler
doesn't mean it's true.
“What are you talking about?”
What if all the crazy complications
of a geocentric Universe
were actually correct?
If the Earth was the center
of the Solar System,
you'd have to unlearn a lot
of what you know about the Universe.
The Earth would now
be in the middle of everything.
Surrounding us
would be several layers
of other celestial orbits.
Right next to us
would be the Moon.
Then the Sun.
Then Venus, Mercury, Mars
and the rest of the planets
of the Solar System.
Beyond that, a sphere
containing all the stars.
And beyond that,
the end of the Universe as we know it.
If this reordering
meant the laws of gravity
stayed the same,
then the sizes of the Earth and the Sun
would have to change dramatically.
Our planet would need to be bigger,
and the Sun would have to be smaller.
And not just by a little.
The largest planet in the Solar System
now is Jupiter, and its mass
is only 0.1% percent of the Sun's.
And Jupiter is over
300 times more massive than the Earth.
So this would require some significant
changes in our planetary neighborhood.
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A smaller Sun would no longer be capable
of powering itself with fusion.
So you'd be getting a lot less sunlight.
This would have enormous effects
on the climate
and the habitability of Earth.
Temperatures would plummet
and they would keep dropping
until the Earth turned
into a giant snowball.
As for the other planets,
they would no longer orbit
in their elliptical patterns.
Instead, the planets
would all revolve around us
at different speeds.
But the Moon's orbit wouldn't be uniform.
Its orbit would change every month.
OK, that's a bit chaotic.
And here's a strange part
for all the stargazing earthlings.
Sometimes the planets would look like
they were moving backward.
That's because the planets
wouldn't simply revolve around the Earth.
They would also follow their own
mini orbit, called the epicycle.
And that would result in this funky
path around the Earth.
At least the Earth
would still have its seasons.
But not because of the Earth's axis.
Instead, it would be because
the Sun would move up and down
the celestial equator
as it was orbiting us.
It would hit the Northern Hemisphere
at one point
and the Southern Hemisphere at another.
Is this geocentric model
giving you a headache?
Maybe it's time you listened
to the overwhelming evidence
that you are not at the center
of the Universe after all.
But maybe not all of the old
theories are wrong.
Maybe there is an alien civilization
hiding within our planet
and you need to look deeper
under the surface
of your world to find it.
But that's a story for another WHAT IF.