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< Esato Forum Index > General discussions > Non mobile discussion > $1000 if you can prove the Earth revolves around the Sun! Bookmark topic

ok here is an interesting topic I just came across. It has religious connotations but its the science angle that interests me

Catholic Apologetics International will write a check for $1,000 to the first person who can prove that the earth revolves around the sun. (If you lose, then we ask that you make a donation to the apostolate of CAI).

Now a word of caution. By "proof" we mean that your explanations must be direct, observable, physical, natural, repeatable, unambiguous and comprehensive. We don't want hearsay, popular opinion, "expert" testimony, majority vote, personal conviction, organizational rulings, superficial analogies, appeals to "simplicity," "apologies" to Galileo, or any other indirect means of persuasion which do not qualify as scientific proof.

you can read more on the linked page about the religious angle but it has certainly got me thinking about how this can be "proved" and also the wider question (of life the universerve and everything - I suppose), and a topic often discussed between my mates and I, of proving that we exist at all!

but perhaps we should start with the "easier" question of proving the Earth revolves around the Sun and get that $1000!
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Posted: 2006-02-10 16:44:00
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Why such a small prize? Unless d donations are added...
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Posted: 2006-02-10 17:54:00
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thats easy, the earth and rest of the universe all are all still, and the sun is the only lump of matter that moves...
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Posted: 2006-02-10 17:58:17
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http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae240.cfm
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Posted: 2006-02-10 18:28:03
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Surly the stars moving through the sky prove it?
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Posted: 2006-02-10 18:34:36
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that could just be the earth rotating. i guess the seasons prove it?
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Posted: 2006-02-10 18:41:06
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I suppose that one could position a spacecraft at a sufficient distance from the Earth and Sun and have it record the movemnets of the Earth for a year in relation to the position of the Sun.

I have to ask though, is this something that can be won? Will this organisation find someway to invalidate any claim that is made? I hope not.
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Posted: 2006-02-10 18:41:24
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I thought everything revolved around me.
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Posted: 2006-02-10 18:48:03
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Its pretty much proving the moon goes round the sun, so surly this is the same with the earth, gravity and all that!
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Posted: 2006-02-10 18:50:25
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@scotsboyuk, your first link is a good one but I feel that it involves a certain assumption about the stars being observed in order to provide the proof required whereas as I understand it, there can be no assumptions or variables involved in the proof

I would also say that "just because there are seasons" is not any way a scientific proof of anything! Indeed we would have seasons if the sun went around the earth!

in regards to a spacecraft observation, what proof is there that the spacecraft is stationary?

and no, the universe revolves around me, at least from my point of view
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Posted: 2006-02-10 18:51:13
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