Submitted by maugustus t3_zyricz in askscience
arcosapphire t1_j28wypu wrote
Reply to comment by Navvana in Before Newton, how did people explain falling apples? by maugustus
> His mathematical equations/proofs showed that the same force that made apples fall to the earth was what made the planets move
I wouldn't say "what makes them move"--he understood momentum, and what gave planets their momentum is not defined by his gravitational theory. (I would assume he described the initial velocity as divinely created.) Gravity just describes why they orbit.
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