For thousands of years,people have recognized that planets travel among the stars.The planets generally follow the path taken by the Sun through the sky.The Sun’s path is called the ecliptic.The groups of stars along the ecliptic are called the Zodiac(黄道带).
The motion of the planets can be confusing at times.Everyone knows the Sun rises in the east and sets in the west.But this is caused by the turning motion of the Earth.Planets generally move from west to east.
However,Mars will appear to move backward for about two months this year.This happens because the Earth is overtaking Mars on its way around the Sun.Mars began its backward,or westward motion on May 11th.It will start moving eastward again on July 19th.
Mars’ apparent motion has been a mystery to astronomers for hundreds of years.Most early theories of the solar system argued that the Sun and planets turned around the Earth.But the sudden westward motion of Mars presented a problem.Why would Mars move west for two months when it nears “opposition”?
In 1543,a Polish church worker named Nicolas Copernicus published a different theory.His theory said the Earth and planets moved around the Sun in perfectly circular orbits.Copernicus’ theory was simpler.But his Suncentered system still did not explain the observed motion of Mars very well.
Finally,a German mathematician named Johannes Kepler published a complete theory of the motion of the planets in 1619.He had carefully studied the motion of Mars for many years.Johannes Kepler discovered that the planets do not move in circular orbits around the sun.Instead,they travel in flattened orbits called ellipses.Mars’ elliptical orbit is the cause of its unusual brightening this year and its apparent large size.During the next several weeks,you can see for yourself why the mysterious motion of Mars has caused so many people to wonder.
【2017届高考英语一轮复习基础巩固学案:Unit 5《Enjoying Food》(重大版必修2)】相关文章:
★ 【优化方案】2017届高考英语二轮复习全国卷Ⅱ规范练:8(含解析)
★ 北京市2014高考英语一轮复习 练习手册(31)选修7 Unit 1 Living well(含解析)新人教版
★ 2014高考英语(新人教版)一轮基础训练(5)A、B卷(附答案或解析)
★ (安徽专用)2014届高考英语一轮复习方案 作业手册(10)模块4 《Unit 10 Money》(含解析) 北师大版必修1
★ 【优化方案】2017届高考英语二轮复习全国卷Ⅱ题型重组训练:第18组(含解析)
★ 【北师大版】2014届高考英语一轮复习指导课时作业:Unit 10 A卷 Word版含解析
★ 【人教版】2014届高考英语一轮复习指导考点针对练:必修2 unit4《Wildlife protection》
★ 2017届江苏省淮安市新马中学高考牛津译林版英语一轮复习活动单:模块8 Unit 3《The world of colours and light》
★ 2014高考英语(新人教版)一轮基础训练(12)A、B卷(附答案或解析)
最新
2017-04-24
2017-04-24
2017-04-24
2017-04-24
2017-04-21
2017-04-21