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Copernicus: Heliocentric
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Astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was instrumental in establishing the concept of a heliocentric solar system, in which the sun, rather than the earth, is the center of the solar system.
Who Was Copernicus?
Circa 1508, Nicolaus Copernicus developed his own celestial model of a heliocentric planetary system. Around 1514, he shared his findings in the Commentariolus. His second book on the topic, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, was banned by the Roman Catholic Church decades after his May 24, 1543 death in Frombork.
Early Life and Education
Famed astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (Mikolaj Kopernik, in Polish) came into the world on February 19, 1473. The fourth and youngest child born to Nicolaus Copernicus Sr. and Barbara Watzenrode, an affluent copper merchant family in Torun, West Prussia, Copernicus was technically of German heritage.
Copernicus' Theory: Heliocentric Solar System
Throughout the time he spent in Lidzbark-Warminski, Copernicus continued to study astronomy. Among the sources that he consulted was Regiomontanus's 15th-century work Epitome of the Almagest, which presented an alternative to Ptolemy's model of the universe and significantly influenced Copernicus' research.
Scholars believe that by around 1508, Copernicus had begun developing his own celestial model, a heliocentric planetary system. During the second century A.D., Ptolemy had invented a geometric planetary model with eccentric circular motions and epicycles, significantly deviating from Aristotle's idea that celestial bodies moved in a fixed circular motion around the earth.
In 1513, Copernicus' dedication prompted him to build his own modest observatory. Nonetheless, his observations did, at times, lead him to form inaccurate conclusions, including his assumption that planetary orbits occurred in perfect circles. As German astronomer Johannes Kepler would later prove, planetary orbits are actually elliptical in shape.
Contributions
The sketch set forth seven axioms, each describing an aspect of the heliocentric solar system: 1) Planets don't revolve around one fixed point; 2) The earth is not at the center of the universe; 3) The sun is at the center of the universe, and all celestial bodies rotate around it; 4) The distance between the Earth and Sun is only a tiny fraction of stars' distance from the Earth and Sun; 5) Stars do not move, and if they appear to, it is only because the Earth itself is moving; 6) Earth moves in a sphere around the Sun, causing the Sun's perceived yearly movement; and 7) Earth's own movement causes other planets to appear to move in an opposite direction.
Commentariolus also went on to describe in detail Copernicus' assertion that a mere 34 circles could sufficiently illustrate planetary motion. Copernicus sent his unpublished manuscript to several scholarly friends and contemporaries, and while the manuscript received little to no response among his colleagues, a buzz began to build around Copernicus and his unconventional theories.
Courting Controversy with the Catholic Church
Copernicus raised a fair share of controversy with Commentariolus and De revolutionibus orbium coelestium ("On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres"), with the second work published right before his death. His critics claimed that he failed to solve the mystery of the parallax — the seeming displacement in the position of a celestial body, when viewed along varying lines of sight — and that his work lacked a sufficient explanation for why the Earth orbits the Sun.
Osiander even went so far as to write a disclaimer stating that the heliocentric system was an abstract hypothesis that need not be seen as truth. He added his text to the book's preface, leading readers to assume that Copernicus himself had written it. By this time, Copernicus was ailing and unfit for the task of defending his work.
Ironically, Copernicus had dedicated De revolutionibus orbium coelestium to Pope Paul III. If his tribute to the religious leader was an attempt to cull the Catholic Church's softer reception, it was to no avail. The church ultimately banned De revolutionibus in 1616, though the book was eventually removed from the list of forbidden reading material.
Death
In May 1543, mathematician and scholar Georg Joachim Rheticus presented Copernicus with a copy of a newly published De revolutionibus orbium coelestium. Suffering the aftermath of a recent stroke, Copernicus was said to have been clutching the book when he died in his bed on May 24, 1543, in Frombork, Poland.
Legacy
Kepler later revealed to the public that the preface for De revolutionibus orbium coelestium had indeed been written by Osiander, not Copernicus. As Kepler worked on expanding upon and correcting the errors of Copernicus' heliocentric theory, Copernicus became a symbol of the brave scientist standing alone, defending his theories against the common beliefs of his time.
Who Was Copernicus?
Circa 1508, Nicolaus Copernicus developed his own celestial model of a heliocentric planetary system. Around 1514, he shared his findings in the Commentariolus. His second book on the topic, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, was banned by the Roman Catholic Church decades after his May 24, 1543 death in Frombork.
Early Life and Education
Famed astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (Mikolaj Kopernik, in Polish) came into the world on February 19, 1473. The fourth and youngest child born to Nicolaus Copernicus Sr. and Barbara Watzenrode, an affluent copper merchant family in Torun, West Prussia, Copernicus was technically of German heritage.
Copernicus' Theory: Heliocentric Solar System
Throughout the time he spent in Lidzbark-Warminski, Copernicus continued to study astronomy. Among the sources that he consulted was Regiomontanus's 15th-century work Epitome of the Almagest, which presented an alternative to Ptolemy's model of the universe and significantly influenced Copernicus' research.
Scholars believe that by around 1508, Copernicus had begun developing his own celestial model, a heliocentric planetary system. During the second century A.D., Ptolemy had invented a geometric planetary model with eccentric circular motions and epicycles, significantly deviating from Aristotle's idea that celestial bodies moved in a fixed circular motion around the earth.
In 1513, Copernicus' dedication prompted him to build his own modest observatory. Nonetheless, his observations did, at times, lead him to form inaccurate conclusions, including his assumption that planetary orbits occurred in perfect circles. As German astronomer Johannes Kepler would later prove, planetary orbits are actually elliptical in shape.
Contributions
The sketch set forth seven axioms, each describing an aspect of the heliocentric solar system: 1) Planets don't revolve around one fixed point; 2) The earth is not at the center of the universe; 3) The sun is at the center of the universe, and all celestial bodies rotate around it; 4) The distance between the Earth and Sun is only a tiny fraction of stars' distance from the Earth and Sun; 5) Stars do not move, and if they appear to, it is only because the Earth itself is moving; 6) Earth moves in a sphere around the Sun, causing the Sun's perceived yearly movement; and 7) Earth's own movement causes other planets to appear to move in an opposite direction.
Commentariolus also went on to describe in detail Copernicus' assertion that a mere 34 circles could sufficiently illustrate planetary motion. Copernicus sent his unpublished manuscript to several scholarly friends and contemporaries, and while the manuscript received little to no response among his colleagues, a buzz began to build around Copernicus and his unconventional theories.
Courting Controversy with the Catholic Church
Copernicus raised a fair share of controversy with Commentariolus and De revolutionibus orbium coelestium ("On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres"), with the second work published right before his death. His critics claimed that he failed to solve the mystery of the parallax — the seeming displacement in the position of a celestial body, when viewed along varying lines of sight — and that his work lacked a sufficient explanation for why the Earth orbits the Sun.
Osiander even went so far as to write a disclaimer stating that the heliocentric system was an abstract hypothesis that need not be seen as truth. He added his text to the book's preface, leading readers to assume that Copernicus himself had written it. By this time, Copernicus was ailing and unfit for the task of defending his work.
Ironically, Copernicus had dedicated De revolutionibus orbium coelestium to Pope Paul III. If his tribute to the religious leader was an attempt to cull the Catholic Church's softer reception, it was to no avail. The church ultimately banned De revolutionibus in 1616, though the book was eventually removed from the list of forbidden reading material.
Death
In May 1543, mathematician and scholar Georg Joachim Rheticus presented Copernicus with a copy of a newly published De revolutionibus orbium coelestium. Suffering the aftermath of a recent stroke, Copernicus was said to have been clutching the book when he died in his bed on May 24, 1543, in Frombork, Poland.
Legacy
Kepler later revealed to the public that the preface for De revolutionibus orbium coelestium had indeed been written by Osiander, not Copernicus. As Kepler worked on expanding upon and correcting the errors of Copernicus' heliocentric theory, Copernicus became a symbol of the brave scientist standing alone, defending his theories against the common beliefs of his time.
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