copernicus

     

Nicolaus Copernicus (February 19, 1473 – May 24, 1543) was the first astronomer to formulate a scientifically base heliocentric cosmology that displaced the Earth from the center of the universe. His epochal book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres), is often regarded as the starting point of modern astronomy and the defining epiphany that began the Scientific Revolution.

Trivia about copernicus

  • The IUPAC named an element for this man born in 1473 to "highlight the link between astronomy and... nuclear chemistry"
  • His notion that the Sun was the center of the solar system was published in 1543
  • In his 1512 "Commentariolus" he stated the planets travel around the sun
  • For the last 8 years of his life, Galileo was under house arrest for espousing this man's theory
  • This Pole died in 1543, days after receiving the first copy of his book "On the Revolutions of Heavenly Bodies"
  • In 1999 Gallup found 18% polled believed the sun revolved around the Earth, opposite to this man's 1543 theory
  • In Warsaw, you can find a prominent statue of this 16th century astronomer
  • Around 1507 this Polish astronomer began trying to prove that the sun, not earth, was the center of the universe
  • In 1491 he began his studies at the University of Krakow; his impact on the world would be astronomical
  • (Cheryl of the Clue Crew reports from Chicago's Adler Planetarium.) In celebration of his 500th birthday, a statue of this Polish astronomer was dedicated outside the Adler Planetarium in 1973
  • This Pole's sun-centered universe theory explained why Mars appeared to move backwards across the sky
  • This Polish astronomer has craters on the moon & Mars named for him
  • Ptolemy's system of astronomy held up until 1543, when this Polish astronomer went heliocentric
  • The surname of this 16th century Polish astronomer means "one who works with copper"