Is the earth revolving around the sun or the sun around the earth?

Question

Only serious asnwers by physics aficionados, and refrain from mentioning the obvious and referring to well-known axioms of classical physics.

I would greatly appreciate the next answer to be by a physics graduate, as this was obviously not for kids or people with only passing familiarity with the concepts of general relativity.

Answer 1

Both are true with respect to each other, which really means considering one of them at rest at a time. In an inertial frame both of them are revolving about their centre of mass, which must be very near the centre of sun, sun being very massive.

Answer 2

Its all relative. to where you stand and what else you consider. If you fixate on the earth and ignore the true nature of the other planets, as the ancients did, then indeed, you can take the position that the sun orbits the earth. You can even take the position that the planets travel an eccentric strange curved path in the sky. This is the origin of the word planet meaning "wanderer" since they do not "rise" and "fall" as other "stars" do. The problem was that this model of the solar system leads to some extremely involved math if you want really accurate . measurements. Some models of wheels within wheels were devised to describe the planets path, but never with much accuracy. The simpler model of the earth and planets orbiting the sun gave simpler mathematics for accurate predictions. This is why astronomers like Copernicus proposed the theory a full century before it was validated into reality by Galileo with his telescope. It might be said that Copernicus made the first "theoretical discovery", akin to Einstein's discovery of "black holes"

Answer 3

I'm not einstein when it comes to physics but the earth revolves around the sun. It was thought in the middle ages that the universe was earth-centric meaning that the earth was the center of the solar system and everything revolved around it but lost acceptance from astronomers who charted the stars.

Answer 4

OK so whats the point here...you expended 5 points to pose a question nobody can anser.

But I'm getting two points anyway for vaguely recalling that illustration on the discovery channel of the sun depressing a grid in the space time continuum, and the earth maintaining suffient velocity to avoid spiraling down to the depression the sun is parked in.

Answer 5

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

let's go way back in time here for awhile

what DID the smart people think and why

the ones who had figured it out were being burned alive I think

unless they were smart enough to say whatever was required

Bruno got burnt, his pupil Galileo was givin a choice since he could live in both worlds and had friends, they put him in the dungeon for a month, then in a palace, then asked him, which is it, he knew which, he said what they wanted to hear and then added, but still ;)

Answer 6

They are revolving around their mutal center of mass.

Answer 7

You honestly don't know? You must have gone to a government school.

Answer 8

this is a joke right? it is spinning from a wire that is tied to the end of my DI CK

Answer 9

the earth is turning

Answer 10

It doesn't really matter which way it is, now, does it?