Ancient Models of the Universe

Abstract

The Universe encompasses Earth and the celestial bodies. What are the shapes and structures of heaven and Earth? Based on our everyday experience, the Earth seems flat and the horizon seems to extend to infinity, but the motions of the Sun, the Moon and the stars suggest that heaven is spherical. The flat Earth/domed heavens model was a common cosmological model of ancient civilizations. However, this model also raised questions such as “where does the Sun go at night?” and “why is there a special direction called north?”