Why did greek philosophers/astronomers conclude that heavens were made up of spheres moving at a constant speed?
1 Answer
It was aesthetically pleasing.
Explanation:
Prior to the Scientific Revolution (1550-1700), scientific statements were based on objective reasoning, not observed facts for the most part. Even the Scientific method did not come about until the late 17th century.
Due to this, ancient Greek astronomers, along with their great impacts, had some ideas that were not true. One of these was the "fact" that the planets orbited around the earth at a constant speed in their own spheres. The main reason for this was it was a lot nicer to look at and thing about Celestial Spheres rather than a chaotic universe with no order; it made them feel like they were powerful to put the planets and stars in orbits they choose.
And actually, contrary to public opinion, this system was backed for the most part by observations after Ptolemy came along and introduced epicures, which solved the problem of retrograde motion.
We would have to spend at least one thousand years under the geocentric celestial sphere model until the Scientific Revolution rebuked it for good.
