With [[Isaac Newton]] and the 1687 publication of ''[[Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica|Principia Mathematica]]'', the problem of the motion of the heavens was finally solved. Newton provided a physical mechanism for [[Kepler's laws]] and his [[law of universal gravitation]] allowed the [[anomalies]] in previous systems, caused by gravitational interaction between the planets, to be resolved. A fundamental difference between Newton's cosmology and those preceding it was the [[Copernican principle]] that the bodies on earth obey the same [[physical law]]s as all the celestial bodies. This was a crucial philosophical advance in physical cosmology. | With [[Isaac Newton]] and the 1687 publication of ''[[Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica|Principia Mathematica]]'', the problem of the motion of the heavens was finally solved. Newton provided a physical mechanism for [[Kepler's laws]] and his [[law of universal gravitation]] allowed the [[anomalies]] in previous systems, caused by gravitational interaction between the planets, to be resolved. A fundamental difference between Newton's cosmology and those preceding it was the [[Copernican principle]] that the bodies on earth obey the same [[physical law]]s as all the celestial bodies. This was a crucial philosophical advance in physical cosmology. |