Many people have had their great contributions to science. Some had the wrong ideas, or their theories were wrong, or maybe they weren’t asking the right questions. Others had some facts right, and some facts wrong. Many of the great minds in science made discoveries that went against the beliefs of the many, which angered people, but their discoveries still had great influence in the science world and their ideas are still used in science today. But even some of the greatest minds of science have made mistakes. I am about to tell you about the contributions and accomplishments of Nicolaus Copernicus, who faced many of the same challenges that many great discoverers faced in earlier times. I am also going to tell you about some of the …show more content…
Many royals, and high-ranking members of the clergy wanted his medical services, be he would have rather helped the poor rather than people of high status. However even though his training wan in medicine, and he worked for the powerful Catholic Church at the time, he was still very interested in astronomy and mathematics even though the Church found studying science was a sin, and an offense to god, and the church.
Adult Life of Nicolaus Copernicus: Nicolaus Copernicus was interested in science for a while. He read the work of the Ancient Greeks. In 1513, he bought 800 building stones with the intention of building his own observatory. There Nicolaus would do his work as an astronomer, and make history. In the observatory is where Nicolaus would come up with his famous heliocentric model instead of Ptolemy’s geocentric model. This model will come to be known as what we call today, The Solar System. In Nicolaus’ later life, he had written a few books, or texts. Such texts were Commentariolus, which is Latin for “Little Commentary”. Copernicus wrote Commentariolus in 1514, but finished in 1530. But he never really published it, but he did show it to his friends. Copernicus thought that if he published his work, he knew that to change the model of the geocentric to heliocentric he would not only challenge Aristotle and Ptolemy, but it would also challenge the Christian doctrine. However his work did get out there
In 1491, Copernicus entered the University of Cracow, where he studied painting and mathematics. Although Copernicus did not study astronomy at this university, it is the place where he first started developing an interest in the cosmos. He graduated from the University of Cracow in 1494, he then returned to Torun where he took a canon’s position, arranged by his Uncle in the Frankfurt Cathedral. This is typically an opportunity only offered to priests. This new position allowed him to fund the continuation of his studies for as long as he liked. This job of his was very demanding however and could only go study for short periods of time when his job allowed him free time. Regardless of the lack of time, Copernicus traveled to Italy in 1496 to the University of Bologna, where he enrolled in Religious law. While studying at this university, Copernicus meets Domenico Maria Novara, an astronomer, and became a pupil of his. In 1500 Copernicus completed his studies of religious law studies in Bologna. “Copernicus’ arrival in Italy, it may be believed, refined him and cleansed him of the pollution
This discovery shows how the sun the is in the middle of the solar system, and every other planet is orbiting it. Also, sense the earth’s movement is sort of rapid it makes the other planets and stars look like they’re moving, but they’re really not. Some examples of what his discovery is shown in Nicolaus Copernicus heliocentric solar system. Also, it is shown in the books that Nicolaus Copernicus made which are named,”Commentariolus” and “De revolutionibus orbium coelestium.” It is shown in these examples how Nicolaus Copernicus made all these wonderful
Document 3 shows how Galileo’s observations of the moon and laws of motion supported Copernicus’ heliocentric model. He discovered that the moon has craters, and is not a perfect sphere like Aristotle said. This was able to prove that Copernicus was correct. However, the Church disagreed and disliked his work. It was rejected by the Church and he was forced to recant or face execution.
Copernicus release his theory of the heliocentric view while he was on his death bed. Primary reason for this was because of the Catholic’s church control on society at the time and the effects it would have on religious society stating that the earth was not the center of the universe. After Copernicus released
Copernicus began to question Ptolemy at a very young age. Copernicus didn’t believe Ptolemy’s view of the universe and that it was geocentric. Copernicus found mathematical errors to help him prove that Earth was not the center of the universe. After some research Copernicus realized that the universe was
Nicolaus Copernicus, a great mathematician, and Astronomer introduced the idea of a heliocentric universe, which now is one of the important movements of the time. Back when he was alive, he harbored this idea away for the fear of the hatred and death his idea would bring upon him. As the church was the power and anything that went against said power was turned away. Hatred, hostility, resentment would fall upon you and worst of all death. Copernicus being the extraordinary brilliant person he was, waited until he was on his deathbed to present his ideas to the world, being as he was dying already he had nothing to fear. His work has inspired and caused many people to now think for themselves, to use their own minds and go out against those
In 1543 Nicholas Copernicus, a Polish Canon, published “On the Revolution of the Celestial Orbs”. The popular view is that Copernicus discovered that the earth revolves
In his letter written in 1597 to Johannes Kepler, he states, “I accepted the view of Copernicus many years ago. And from this standpoint I have discovered many natural phenomena, which cannot be explained on the basis of the more commonly accepted hypothesis [that the Earth is the center of the Universe]”(9). In other words, Galileo also accepted the idea of the heliocentric view of the universe and that it is a better model of the universe that can explain phenomenon that could not necessarily be explained with the geocentric view. With his invention of a more powerful telescope, observation of a supernova, and discovery of the four moons of Jupiter, Galileo further supported and extended Copernicus’ theory of the heliocentric view of the
Nicolas Copernicus was a a polish astronomer. He had a theory that the sun is the center of the universe and that the Earth is spinning on its axis daily. This is called heliocentric or sun-centered
Copernicus's theories seemed impractical and came with some controversy, but later scientists such as Tycho Brahe and Galileo Galilei would build on his ideas. Although Copernicus passed away in May of 1543, his beliefs about the universe stayed alive and were proven true in 1992 with thanks to Galileo and others for defending his
His use of mathematics in his theory eliminated many of the inconsistencies that existed in the geocentric theory such as the elliptical movements of the planets. Copernicus said in his Heliocentric Statement, which was written sometime after 1520, "What appears to us as motions of the sun arise not from its motion but from the motion of the earth and our sphere, with which we revolve about the sun like any other planet. The earth has, then, more than one motion."3
Have you ever wondered who discovered that the sun is the center of our universe? If so, the answer is Nicolai Copernicus. This man was a well-respected as well as well educated man. He explored many different subjects including mathematics, medicine, canon law, and his favorite astronomy. The Earth-centered universe of Aristotle and Ptolemy were Western thinking for almost 2000 years until the 16th century when Copernicus proposed his theory.
Copernicus was studying and writing during the Renaissance and arguably the Scientific Revolution. The Renaissance was a time of rebirth of old ideas and a new way of looking at things not just in the areas of science but throughout literature, arts and many other areas. It was a time when new ideas did not seem to provide solutions to all the questions that were being asked.( ) Copernicus proposed a new system of planetary motion that had the sun at the centre of the universe rather than the earth. However contrary to popular belief, this was not a new and revolutionary idea. The ancients had proposed such a solution, most notably from Aristarchus who argued that it was more plausible for the sun to be at the centre rather than the earth. However Copernicus makes no mention of Aristarchus in De Revolutionibus. Not long before Copernicus began writing, Cusa suggested this again, and it is argued that this may be where Copernicus got early inspiration from, although this is not proven. ( ) It was in the rest of his writing that Copernicus
How did Nicolaus Copernicus’s scientific conclusions change the way we see the solar system today? Nicolaus Copernicus’s theory of the universe was life changing to science. Because of his theories[and newer technology] we now know how our part of the Milky Way was created and placed together by God’s hands.
The Catholic Church played an important role at the time when all the works in which the movement of the earth was admitted, Catholics were forbidden to teach, and even read, the Copernican theories. The “Copernican Theory” modeled some problems of enormous importance for Christian’s obviously theological nature. Leaders like Martin Luther and John Calvin told us that Scripture brandished against Nicolaus Copernicus and provoked repression against its followers, but generally abandon the fight Protestantism once the “Theories of Copernicus” were confirmed with indisputable evidence. In this paper, I will first evaluate the history about how “Copernican Theory” and its model of the earth came into existence. I will also analyze the “Copernican Theory” in light of Churches idea of the earth being flat. I will ultimately argue that Nicolaus Copernicus played an important role in the history of Philosophy of Science.