History of physics to simplify their production. In heliocentric models of the Solar system, the Earth orbits the Sun along with other bodies in Earth's galaxy, a contradiction according to the Greek-Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy (2nd century CE; see above), whose system placed the Earth at the center of the Universe and had been accepted for over 1,400 years. The Greek astronomer Aristarchus of Samos (c.310 – c.230 BCE) had suggested that the Earth revolves around the Sun, but Copernicus' reasoning led to lasting general acceptance of this "revolutionary" idea. Copernicus' book presenting the theory ("De revolutionibus orbium coelestium", "On the Revolutions of the
The Book of the Short Sun least "Locus: The Magazine of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Field" considered the three "Short Sun" volumes separately for annual "Best Novel" awards. The "Short Sun" of the title is an ordinary star, in contrast to the "Long Sun" of the Whorl where the narrator grew up. Most of the story takes place in a star system with two habitable planets, Blue and Green, which lend their names to the first two volumes. The Whorl of volume three's title is the generation ship setting of "Long Sun". The Tor hardcover editions (see table) were almost 1200 pages long in sum.