Question

What observation did Galileo make that was inconsistent with the Geocentric model for the Solar System?

A) The existence of craters on the Moon.
B) The lack of positional changes between distant and nearby stars.
C) The apparent retrograde motion of planets on the sky.
D) The phases of Venus.
E) The existence of sunspots.

Answer 1

Galileo's observation that Venus goes through a full set of phases like the Moon was inconsistent with the Geocentric model and supported the Copernican model, placing the Sun at the center of the solar system.

Step-by-step explanation:

Galileo's observations of the phases of Venus provided key evidence that was inconsistent with the Geocentric model of the solar system. He noticed that Venus exhibited a full set of phases similar to those of the Moon, which strongly suggested that Venus orbits the Sun, and not Earth as the Geocentric model, proposed by Ptolemy, would suggest.

Ptolemy's model predicted phases for Venus, but these were not in the correct order as observed by Galileo through his telescope. This discovery supported the Copernican theory, which placed the Sun at the center of the solar system rather than the Earth.