Center of the Universe

  1. Geo-centrism was the standard model of the Universe until the 16th century when Helio-centrism took over. More recently, we are told the Sun itself rotates around the center of the Galaxy and in fact the whole Universe expands like the surface of a balloon which means every single point in the Universe becomes its center if the frame of reference is relative to that point.
  2. Helio-versus-Geo-centrism is the incorrect “right-versus-wrong”, “science-versus-religion” story repeated over and over. The truth is in fact more nuanced as no coordinates system or law of mechanics supports this story. Newton’s law states that “two bodies attract each other with a force…”, so no preference for Earth or Sun. And while General Relativity attributes gravity to the space-time curvature, it conserves the neutrality between Helio- and Geo-centrism.
  3. Earth is indeed the Center of the Universe in the Geo-centric frame of reference just as the Sun is the center in a Helio-centric frame of reference. Will Geo-centrism make a comeback? Don’t count on it, even if this old idea is not as wrong as once thought.
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