The geocentric system uses epicycles in order to create a model in which the earth is in the center of the solar system and the planets and sun look the way they actually look from the earth with the naked eye. The idea of epicycles was added by Ptolemy because without them his model was not consistent with what the ancients recorded about the position of the planets, the sun and the moon. It was important that the model be consistent with observation since the model was used for navigation and land travel. Once the telescope came into being it was evident that the geocentric model (which included the epicycles) was not consistent with was now observable in the sky, such as the way that Venus looked at different times of years (the phases of Venus). Therefore the geocentric model was abandoned for the heliocentric model. The heliocentric model's predicted movements that were closer to what was observable with the new technology. The heliocentric model does not "need" epicycles, in fact they would lead to false predictions inconsistent with what was observable.
Practical science often bases its calculations on geocentricity. For example, astronomers use the rotating "celestial sphere" to represent the apparent motion of stars, etc in the night sky. But this is just a useful device. Modern astronomy is certainly based on the heliocentric model of our solar system.
Ptolemy used a combination of epicycles and deferents to explain retrograde motion in his geocentric model of the solar system. Epicycles were small circles that planets moved along while also moving along a larger circle called a deferent. This complex system of circles was used to account for the observed planetary motion from Earth's perspective.
Galileo's ideas started to be accepted during the late 17th century, after his death in 1642. His work laid the foundation for modern physics and astronomy, gradually gaining recognition among the scientific community. By the early 18th century, his contributions had become widely acknowledged.
Basically, Copernicus used math to figure things out. To draw a figure for himself or for publication, he might use a compass or a straightedge, but what motivated his change from a geocentric to a heliocentric system---i.e., from an Earth-centered to a Sun-centered system---was a combination of aesthetics and mathematics. The reason people took him seriously is because of the latter: he provided a mathematical basis for saying that the Sun, and not Earth, lay at the center of our planetary system.
The current model of the solar system is the "heliocentric system" meaning sun is the center of the solar system. Hope this helps :)
Before the heliocentric model gained acceptance, many ancient astronomers believed in a geocentric universe where the Earth was considered the center of the solar system.
Practical science often bases its calculations on geocentricity. For example, astronomers use the rotating "celestial sphere" to represent the apparent motion of stars, etc in the night sky. But this is just a useful device. Modern astronomy is certainly based on the heliocentric model of our solar system.
Ptolemy's research in the field of astronomy led him to continue down the vein of other Greek scholars who believed in the Geocentric system of planetary orbit. The Ptolemaic system, which believed that the planets and sun moved in small mini-orbits, known as epicycles, within a larger, greater orbit around the earth, was comprised in order from closest to farthest as Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Due to this system's ability to fairly accurately predict the paths of the observable planets in the sky, it remained widely accepted until Copernicus became champion, if you will, of the Heliocentric theory. Even then, Ptolemy's system was still better able to explain the motions of the planets. It was not until the later addition of Kepler's laws of motion that the Heliocentric theory fell neatly into place.
The difference is a point of analysis, whether the origin or center point or zero point in analysis is at the earth or at the sun. This does not force a theory about the center of the Universe. You could describe the United States from the center in Washington, or a center in Chicago. the distance between Chicago and new York would be the same. The center point of analysis is relative and a point of convenience. Astronomers and Astrologers use the geocentric system for convenience. The Middle Ages debate about the Earth being the center of universe was about religion not science or analysis. The heliocentric view offered a more convenient analysis of the solar system than the geocentric system, but for events on earth, the geocentric system is better for analysis still and is used today, Right Ascension system.
Before the heliocentric model of the solar system, people believed that the Earth was at the center of the universe. This geocentric model was commonly accepted in ancient times and throughout the Middle Ages.
Ptolemy used a combination of epicycles and deferents to explain retrograde motion in his geocentric model of the solar system. Epicycles were small circles that planets moved along while also moving along a larger circle called a deferent. This complex system of circles was used to account for the observed planetary motion from Earth's perspective.
Galileo's ideas started to be accepted during the late 17th century, after his death in 1642. His work laid the foundation for modern physics and astronomy, gradually gaining recognition among the scientific community. By the early 18th century, his contributions had become widely acknowledged.
Basically, Copernicus used math to figure things out. To draw a figure for himself or for publication, he might use a compass or a straightedge, but what motivated his change from a geocentric to a heliocentric system---i.e., from an Earth-centered to a Sun-centered system---was a combination of aesthetics and mathematics. The reason people took him seriously is because of the latter: he provided a mathematical basis for saying that the Sun, and not Earth, lay at the center of our planetary system.
The current model of the solar system is the "heliocentric system" meaning sun is the center of the solar system. Hope this helps :)
An Earth-centered solar system, also known as a geocentric model, is a historical astronomical theory that places Earth at the center of the universe, with the sun, moon, and planets orbiting around it. This model was widely accepted in ancient times but was later replaced by the heliocentric model, which correctly places the sun at the center of the solar system.
Galileo
Both Copernicus heliocentric and the Ptolemaic models agreed on the need for epicycles. These were miniature orbits that the celestial bodies travelled on as well as their normal orbits.Copernicus still invigaed the bodies orbiting in perfect circles and had to put these in to explain some of the movements of the planets. This may have contributed to his ideas being largely dismissed as it was just as complicated as the already established model. It was not until Kepler proposed elliptical orbits was this problem resolved.