Aspects of this topic are discussed in the following places at Britannica.
Consider a particle moving along the perimeter of a circle at a uniform rate, such that it makes one complete revolution every hour. To describe the motion mathematically, a vector is constructed from the centre of the circle to the particle. The vector then makes one complete revolution every hour. In other words, the vector behaves exactly like the large hand on a wristwatch, an arrow of...
...much of his scientific career to elucidating the Copernican system. Although Copernicus had put the Sun at the centre of the solar system, his astronomy was still rooted in the Platonic ideal of circular motion. Before Copernicus, astronomers had tried to account for the observed motions of heavenly bodies by imagining that they rotated on crystal spheres centred on the Earth. This picture...
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