De revolutionibus orbium coelestium Earth's axis rigidly to a Sun-centered sphere. The unfortunate consequence was that the terrestrial rotation axis then maintained the same inclination with respect to the Sun as the sphere turned, eliminating the seasons." To explain the seasons, he had to propose a third motion, "an annual contrary conical sweep of the terrestrial axis". It was not until the Great Comet of 1577, which moved as if there were no spheres to crash through, that the idea was challenged. In 1609, Kepler fixed Copernicus' theory by stating that the planets orbit the sun not in circles, but ellipses. Only after Kepler's
Miracle of the Sun Miracle of the Sun The Miracle of the Sun (), also known as the Miracle of Fátima, was an event that is claimed to have occurred on 13 October 1917, attended by a large crowd who had gathered in Fátima, Portugal, in response to a prophecy made by three shepherd children. The prophecy was that the Virgin Mary (referred to as Our Lady of Fátima), would appear and perform miracles on that date. Newspapers published testimony from reporters and other people who claimed to have witnessed extraordinary solar activity, such as the Sun appearing to "dance" or zig-zag in the