Opinion & Comment
In Support of Geocentricity

To The Editor:

the excellent article "Seeing Hashem in His Creation" (14 Tishrei) quoted Sir Fred Hoyle and also referred to the unique anthropically favorable distance and position of the Earth and Sun in allowing the existence of life.

There is much evidence to support geocentricity, that the Earth really is located at the center of the universe, as all of mankind, including Chazal, once held. One of the challenges frequently made against geocentricity is the "barycentric argument:" " . . . that things revolve around the heaviest object." How can the Sun which is one billion times more massive than the Earth orbit it daily — kegibbor lorutz orach (Tehillim 19)?

This is discussed by Hoyle in his book Nicolaus Copernicus (whom the Ma'aseh Tuviyah referred to as the Bechor Soton!). Hoyle points out that the Earth does not, technically, revolve around the Sun, but rather, the Earth and Sun both revolve around the center of mass of the Earth-Sun system, which is quite a few miles from the Sun's central axis (though still well inside the Sun). Hoyle points out that one must factor in all objects, starting with the nearest stars, to recalculate the true center-of-mass of the earth-sun-universe. Hoyle speculates that once one has properly applied the barycentric argument to all other entities in the universe (known as "widening the view angle of one's telescope to avoid self- serving tunnel vision"), the center-of-mass may easily be at the Earth's location, making it impossible to disprove the geocentric hypothesis.

Hoyle says the barycentric argument is only properly applied when every object in the universe has been factored into the center-of-mass calculation, a calculation that has never been done. He believes that consistent application of the barycentric argument, layer by layer, places the center- of-mass farther away from the Sun and closer to the Earth and concludes that the barycentric argument can easily and fully support pure geocentricity: "The Earth is suspended at the center of the universe" (Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah 3).

Yours Truly,

Amnon Goldberg

Tzefas

All material on this site is copyrighted and its use is restricted.
Click here for conditions of use.