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Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) was a mathematician and astronomer who formulated a comprehensive heliocentric model which placed the Sun, rather than the Earth, at the center of the universe, contrary to the prevailing thought at his time which placed the Earth at the center.The publication of Copernicus' book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres), just before his death in 1543, is considered a major event in the history of science.This eBook briefly tells the life of Copernicus and explains his key theories: that the rotation of the Earth causes the apparent daily motion of the objects in the sky, not that the universe rotates around the Earth; that the motion of the planets is better explained with the Sun at the center and the Earth and planets rotating around the sun, rather than the Sun, planets, and stars rotating around the earth; that the sometimes-retrograde motion of Mars is an illusion due to the Earth rotating around the Sun faster than Mars does, not that Mars actually reverses its travel.Although Copernicus correctly deduced that the planets rotate around the Sun, he retained the idea that the orbits were circles. This concept was later overturned by Kepler, who computed that the orbits were elliptical based on accurate measurements of the planets' positions in the sky that were made by Tycho Brahe. (See the volumes about Kepler and Brahe in this eBook series on Great Astronomers.)This is one chapter from Great Astronomers by Sir Richard S. Ball (2nd edition, 1907).
Copernicus, the astronomer, whose discoveries make him the great predecessor of Kepler and Newton, did not come from a noble family, as certain other early astronomers have done, for his father was a tradesman. Chroniclers are, however, careful to tell us that one of his uncles was a bishop. We are not acquainted with any of those details of his childhood or youth which are often of such interest in other cases where men have risen to exalted fame. It would appear that the young Nicolaus, for such was his Christian name, received his education at home until such time as he was deemed sufficiently advanced to be sent to the University at Cracow. The education that he there obtained must have been in those days of a very primitive description, but Copernicus seems to have availed himself of it to the utmost. He devoted himself more particularly to the study of medicine, with the view of adopting its practice as the profession of his life. The tendencies of the future astronomer were, however, revealed in the fact that he worked hard at mathematics, and, like one of his illustrious successors, Galileo, the practice of the art of painting had for him a very great interest, and in it he obtained some measure of success. By the time he was twenty-seven years old, it would seem that Copernicus had given up the notion of becoming a medical practitioner, and had resolved to devote himself to science. He was engaged in teaching mathematics, and appears to have acquired some reputation. His growing fame attracted the notice of his uncle the bishop, at whose suggestion Copernicus took holy orders, and he was presently appointed to a canonry in the cathedral of Frauenhurg, near the mouth of the Vistula. To Frauenburg, accordingly, this man of varied gifts retired. Possessing somewhat of the ascetic spirit, he resolved to devote his life to work of the most serious description. He eschewed all ordinary society, restricting his intimacies to very grave and learned companions, and refusing to engage in conversation of any useless kind. It would seem as if his gifts for painting were condemned as frivolous; at all events, we do not learn that he continued to practise them. In addition to the discharge of his theological duties, his life was occupied partly in ministering medically to the wants of the poor, and partly with his researches in astronomy and mathematics. His equipment in the matter of instruments for the study of the heavens seems to have been of a very meagre description. He arranged apertures in the walls of his house at Allenstein, so that he could observe in some fashion the passage of the stars across the meridian. That he possessed some talent for practical mechanics is proved by his construction of a contrivance for raising water from a stream, for the use of the inhabitants of Frauenburg. Relics of this machine are still to be Been. The intellectual slumber of the Middle Ages was destined to be awakened by the revolutionary doctrines of Copernicus. It may be noted, as an interesting circumstance, that the time at which he discovered the scheme of the solar system has coincided with a remarkable epoch in the world's history. The great astronomer had just reached manhood at the time when Columbus discovered the new world. Before the publication of the researches of Copernicus, the orthodox scientific creed averred that the earth was stationary, and that the apparent movements of the heavenly bodies were indeed real movements. Ptolemy had laid down this doctrine 1,400 years before. In his theory this huge error was associated with so much important truth, and the whole presented such a coherent scheme for the explanation of the heavenly movements, that the Ptolemaic theory was not seriously questioned until the great work of Copernicus appeared. No doubt others, before Copernicus, had from time to time in some vague fashion surmised, with more or less plausibility, that the sun..
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) was a mathematician and astronomer who formulated a comprehensive heliocentric model which placed the Sun, rather than the Earth, at the center of the universe, contrary to the prevailing thought at his time which placed the Earth at the center. The publication of Copernicus' book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres), just before his death in 1543, is considered a major event in the history of science.
Controversial at the time, Copernicus's discoveries led to the scientific revolution, and a greater understanding of our place in the universe. An accessible, abridged edition with a new introduction. Renaissance Natural philosopher Nicolaus Copernicus's pioneering discovery of the heliocentric nature of the solar system is one of the few identifiable moments in history that define the understanding of the nature of all things. His great work was the consequence of long observation and resulted in the first stage of the Scientific Revolution by correctly positing that the earth and other planets of the solar system revolved around the sun. Not only did this promote further study to understand the place of humanity in the world and the universe, it questioned the authority of the organised Christian Church in the West to be the keeper of fundamental truths. Ultimately this would lead to the Enlightenment, and the separation of religion, government and science. The FLAME TREE Foundations series features core publications which together have shaped the cultural landscape of the modern world, with cutting-edge research distilled into pocket guides designed to be both accessible and informative.
Nicolaus Copernicus (February 19, 1473 - May 24, 1543) was a Polish Renaissance mathematician and astronomer who formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than the Earth at the center of the universe. The publication of this model in his book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres) just before his death in 1543 is considered a major event in the history of science, triggering the Copernican Revolution and making an important contribution to the Scientific Revolution.
In 1973, on the 500th anniversary of Copernicus's birth, the Polish Academy of Sciences announced its intention to publish all of the astronomer's extant works, both in their original Latin and in modern translations. Here, available for the first time in softcover, are Edward Rosen's authoritative English translations and commentaries.
Copernicus worked with primitive scientific instruments to prove that Earth revolved around the sun. The idea of Earth circling the sun is universally accepted today, but this was not always the case. Centuries ago, it was widely believed that the earth stood still and the sun moved. At first, Copernicus was denounced and ridiculed for this belief. Later, scientists with more advanced instruments proved that Earth did indeed revolve around the sun. Many of our modern advances in science would not have been possible without the heliocentric theory of Copernicus.
This is a reassessment of the work of the father of modern astronomy by one of the great astronomers of our time. Fred Hoyle analyzes the problem confronting Copernicus, and the manner of its solution. The derivation of the astronomical theory is reinforced by Hoyle's extraordinary insight into the historical background.
Leading historian of science Owen Gingerich offers a fascinating portrait of Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), who developed the concept of a heliocentric universe and is a pivotal figure in the birth of modern science.
Profiles the life and work of the Polish astronomer who believed that the planets revolved around the Sun and the Earth was not the center of the universe.