During the age of Aristotle, people believed that the Earth was the center of the universe. The Earth was still, they said, and the stars, planets, and the sun all moved around us. If you look up at the night sky and watch the stars, it does look like they’re moving, while we stay still. Of course, now we know that the Earth is rotating, and we are not the center of the solar system. But people held onto the idea that the Earth was the center for a very long time.
In the mid-16th century, a man named Copernicus wrote his theory: that it was the Sun, not the Earth, at the center of the solar system. The Earth is a planet and by orbiting around the Sun, we go through the stages of the year, and by rotating on our axis, we experienced the stages of a single day. This was pretty revolutionary stuff, and in the age of the scientific revolution, Copernicus’s work inspired many scientific thinkers, including Galileo, Kepler, Descartes, Bacon, and Newton!
Early Life
Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19, 1473, in Poland. He was the youngest of four and came from a well-off merchant family. After his father’s death, Nicolaus was sent to live with his uncle, Watzenrode, a bishop. Watzenrode educated Nicolaus and prepared him for life in service to the church.
Outside of church studies, Copernicus made time to research astronomy, astrology, and mathematics. While he did become involved with the church, he also visited Italy, where he studied medicine and law. During his studies, he worked with Domenic Maria de Novara, an astronomy professor at the University of Bologna. Alongside Novara, Copernicus observed the night sky and the goings-on above the earth. It’s believed that during his time with Novara, Copernicus was introduced to the works and writings about space that inspired his heliocentric theory (the sun is in the center of our solar system).
Heliocentric Solar System
Although he enjoyed studying the night skies of Italy, Copernicus finally returned to Poland to attend to his religious duties. He lived in a tower room with an observatory. As you can imagine, he was overjoyed, and documented the night sky in his spare time.
In 1514, Copernicus wrote down his theories, and passed out several handwritten copies. In it, he proposed that the sun was at the center of the solar system, and that the Earth’s rotation was the reason we saw the sun rise and set, and the other stars and planets move across the sky. He accumulated these theories and others in his book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, which he published in 1543. The book was dedicated to Pope Paul III, and wasn’t rejected by the church until 1616.
Copernicus died of a stroke on May 24, 1543, at 70 years old. His works have continued to influence our views of the Earth and space.
In the mid-16th century, a man named Copernicus wrote his theory that it was the Sun, not the Earth, at the center of the solar system. The Earth is a planet, and by orbiting around the Sun, we go through the stages of the year, and by rotating on our axis, we experience the stages of a single day. This was pretty revolutionary stuff, and in the age of the scientific revolution, Copernicus’s work inspired many scientific thinkers, including Galileo, Kepler, Descartes, Bacon, and Newton!
Early Life
Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19, 1473, in Poland. He was the youngest of four and came from a well-off merchant family. After his father’s death, Nicolaus was sent to live with his uncle, Watzenrode, a bishop. Watzenrode educated Nicolaus and prepared him for life in service to the church.
Outside of church studies, Copernicus made time to research astronomy, astrology, and mathematics. While he did become involved with the church, he also visited Italy, where he studied medicine and law. During his studies, he worked with Domenic Maria de Novara, an astronomy professor at the University of Bologna. Alongside Novara, Copernicus observed the night sky and the goings-on above the earth. It’s believed that during his time with Novara, Copernicus was introduced to the works and writings about space that inspired his heliocentric theory (the sun is in the center of our solar system).
Heliocentric Solar System
Although he enjoyed studying the night skies of Italy, Copernicus finally returned to Poland to attend to his religious duties. He lived in a tower room with an observatory. As you can imagine, he was overjoyed, and documented the night sky in his spare time.
In 1514, Copernicus wrote down his theories and passed out several handwritten copies. In it, he proposed that the sun was at the center of the solar system, and that the Earth’s rotation was the reason we saw the sun rise and set, and the other stars and planets move across the sky. He accumulated these theories, and others, in his book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, which he published in 1543. The book was dedicated to Pope Paul III, and wasn’t rejected by the church until 1616.
Copernicus died of a stroke on May 24, 1543, at 70 years old. His works have continued to influence our views of the Earth and space.
In the mid-16th century, a man named Copernicus wrote his theory that it was the Sun, not the Earth, at the center of the solar system. The Earth is a planet, and by orbiting around the Sun, we go through the stages of the year, and by rotating on our axis, we experience the stages of a single day. This was pretty revolutionary stuff, and in the age of the scientific revolution, Copernicus’s work inspired many scientific thinkers, including Galileo, Kepler, Descartes, Bacon, and Newton!
Early Life
Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19, 1473, in Poland. He was the youngest of four and came from a well-off merchant family. After his father’s death, Nicolaus was sent to live with his uncle, Watzenrode, a bishop. Watzenrode educated Nicolaus and prepared him for life in service to the church.
Outside of church studies, Copernicus made time to research astronomy, astrology, and mathematics. While he did become involved with the church, he also visited Italy, where he studied medicine and law. During his studies, he worked with Domenic Maria de Novara, an astronomy professor at the University of Bologna. Alongside Novara, Copernicus observed the night sky and the goings-on above the earth. It’s believed that during his time with Novara, Copernicus was introduced to the works and writings about space that inspired his heliocentric theory (the sun is in the center of our solar system).
Heliocentric Solar System
Although he enjoyed studying the night skies of Italy, Copernicus finally returned to Poland, to attend to his religious duties. He lived in a tower room with an observatory. As you can imagine, he was overjoyed, and documented the night sky in his spare time.
In 1514, Copernicus wrote down his theories and passed out several handwritten copies. In it, he proposed that the sun was at the center of the solar system, and that the Earth’s rotation was the reason we saw the sun rise and set, and the other stars and planets move across the sky. He accumulated these theories and others in his book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, which he published in 1543. The book was dedicated to Pope Paul III, and wasn’t rejected by the church until 1616.
Copernicus died of a stroke on May 24, 1543, at 70 years old. His works have continued to influence our views of the Earth and space.
