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"Sometime between 410 and 420 AD, Martianus Capella came out with a book saying Mercury and Venus orbit the Sun, while the other planets orbit the Earth!"

Was there ever serious considerations of Capella's model? How do we know it is wrong? For instance, Tycho's model was found to be wrong because, if I remember correctly, some orbits crossed each other and that ruined the theory. Is there such a contradiction with Capella's model?

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> How do we know it is wrong?

Well, for one thing, we have now sent assorted space probes to the other planets, something that requires precise knowledge of their current and future positions, something that cannot be done without an accurate model of their orbits.

Are you seriously suggesting that Mars, Jupiter et al orbit the earth rather than the sun, or am I badly misreading your comment?

> Was there ever serious considerations of Capella's model?

TFA discusses at length how that model was quite popular in Europe for centuries.

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