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In medieval and Renaissance astronomy, the Primum Mobile, or "first moved," is the outermost moving sphere in the geocentric model
Geocentric model

In astronomy, the geocentric model or The Ptolemaic worldview of the universe is the Superseded scientific theories#Superseded astronomical and cosmological theories that the Earth is the center of the universe and other objects go around it....
 of the universe
Universe

The universe is defined as everything that physically exists: the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and momentum, and the physical laws and physical constants that govern them....
. Astronomers believed that the seven naked-eye planets (including the Moon and the Sun) were carried around the spherical Earth
Spherical Earth

The concept of a Sphere Earth dates back to around the 6th century BCE in ancient Greek philosophy and possibly ancient Indian philosophy.The concept of a spherical Earth displaced earlier beliefs in a flat Earth: In early Mesopotamian thought, the world was portrayed as a flat disk floating in the ocean, and this forms the premise for ear...
 on invisible orbs. Beyond them was the sphere of fixed star
Star

A star is a massive, luminous ball of Plasma that is held together by its own gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth....
s, the Primum Mobile, and the Empyrean
Empyrean

Empyrean, from the Medieval Latin empyreus, an adaptation of the Ancient Greek, "in or on the fire ", properly Empyrean Heaven, is the place in the heavenly sphere, which in ancient cosmology was supposed to be occupied by the element of fire ....
.

The total number of celestial spheres
Celestial spheres

The celestial spheres, or celestial orbs, were the fundamental celestial entities of the cosmological celestial mechanics first invented by Eudoxus, and developed by Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus and others....
 was not fixed.






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In medieval and Renaissance astronomy, the Primum Mobile, or "first moved," is the outermost moving sphere in the geocentric model
Geocentric model

In astronomy, the geocentric model or The Ptolemaic worldview of the universe is the Superseded scientific theories#Superseded astronomical and cosmological theories that the Earth is the center of the universe and other objects go around it....
 of the universe
Universe

The universe is defined as everything that physically exists: the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and momentum, and the physical laws and physical constants that govern them....
. Astronomers believed that the seven naked-eye planets (including the Moon and the Sun) were carried around the spherical Earth
Spherical Earth

The concept of a Sphere Earth dates back to around the 6th century BCE in ancient Greek philosophy and possibly ancient Indian philosophy.The concept of a spherical Earth displaced earlier beliefs in a flat Earth: In early Mesopotamian thought, the world was portrayed as a flat disk floating in the ocean, and this forms the premise for ear...
 on invisible orbs. Beyond them was the sphere of fixed star
Star

A star is a massive, luminous ball of Plasma that is held together by its own gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth....
s, the Primum Mobile, and the Empyrean
Empyrean

Empyrean, from the Medieval Latin empyreus, an adaptation of the Ancient Greek, "in or on the fire ", properly Empyrean Heaven, is the place in the heavenly sphere, which in ancient cosmology was supposed to be occupied by the element of fire ....
.

Ptolemaicsystem Small
The total number of celestial spheres
Celestial spheres

The celestial spheres, or celestial orbs, were the fundamental celestial entities of the cosmological celestial mechanics first invented by Eudoxus, and developed by Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus and others....
 was not fixed. In this 16th-century illustration, the firmament
Firmament

Firmament is the usual English translation of the Hebrew "raqiya`" meaning an extended solid surface or flat expanse, considered to be a hemisphere above the ground....
 (sphere of fixed stars) is eighth, a "crystalline" sphere (posited to account for the reference to "waters . . . above the firmament" in Genesis
Genesis

Genesis or Breishit is the first book of the Bible used by Judaism and Christianity, and the first of five books of the Pentateuch or Torah....
 1:7) is ninth, and the Primum Mobile is tenth. Outside all is the Empyrean, the "habitation of God and all the elect."

See also

  • Unmoved mover
    Unmoved mover

    The unmoved mover is a philosophical concept described by Aristotle as the first cause that sets the universe into motion. As is implicit in the name, the "unmoved mover" is not moved by any prior action....
  • Celestial spheres
    Celestial spheres

    The celestial spheres, or celestial orbs, were the fundamental celestial entities of the cosmological celestial mechanics first invented by Eudoxus, and developed by Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus and others....
  • Firmament
    Firmament

    Firmament is the usual English translation of the Hebrew "raqiya`" meaning an extended solid surface or flat expanse, considered to be a hemisphere above the ground....