Essay on Nicolai Copernicus

The Scientific Revolution brought a new way of thinking about the universe, and brought an end to Europe’s medieval past. Many scientists have devoted their lives to creating new ideas about the physical universe. These scientists created the assumption that the universe and nature are governed by mathematical laws. Each of the three scientists, Nicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, and Isaac Newton contributed to the breakdown of the medieval world view. Nicolaus Copernicus thought past the idea of a geocentric universe, and established the idea of a heliocentric theory, or a sun-centered universe. Johannes Kepler presented the idea of an ellipse, otherwise known as the planets following an oval shaped orbit, and not a perfect circle. Finally,

Ptolemy, a Roman astronomer came up with the theory that the universe revolved around Earth and all the creatures inhabiting it (Doc. C). This theory, The Geocentric Universe of Ptolemy, was adjusted by most of the people during The Middle Ages. However, much later on, Nicolaus Copernicus, a Polish astronomer, disagreed with Ptolemy’s theory. With his use of math and reason, he came up with a new theory called The Heliocentric Universe of Copernicus (Doc. C). He said that the universe & Earth itself revolves around the sun. The Church denied this theory because they did not want to be proven wrong. If the Church was wrong about this part of the universe, this would then cause man to wonder what else they could be wrong about, or even lied to them about. This new theory taught men to think for themselves and not to rely on the Church for

In concordance with Christian doctrines, this system implies that heaven and the throne of God lie beyond the tenth sphere. On the other hand, during the first half of the 16th century, Polish cleric Copernicus developed an astronomical model which positions the motionless Sun at the center of the universe, with the Earth, the moon, and six other planets revolving at a constant speed around it. He argues that all stars were at rest and that their nightly movements are simply indications of the earth’s rotation. However, members of the Church, especially Protestants, who interpreted the Bible literally, refused to grant Copernicus credit for his theory. Nevertheless, once released among the population, the Copernican theory raised support from various scholars, a few of whom, such as Brahe, Kepler, and Galileo, went on to dedicate their career to solidify its legitimacy. With their use of mathematical reasoning, instead of antic philosophy, the Copernican theory finally became justified among the population. Pertaining to its influence among laypeople, the Copernican theory raised various questions against the

Claudius Ptolemy and Nicholas Copernicus were two famous astronomers known for their opposing views of the universe. Ptolemy founded the Ptolemaic system, which stated that the Earth was at the center of the universe. His idea was also known as the geocentric theory. The geocentric theory stated that the Earth was in the center of the universe, standing still, while all the other planets and stars revolved around it. The lack of scientific knowledge led his theory to be widely accepted. The Copernican theory, which revolved around a heliocentric idea, claimed that the sun was at the center of the universe, while the planets, including Earth, circled around it. His idea was not widely popular because of the already accepted propositions with

Copernicus published "On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres" in 1543 , sparking off the scientific revolution and a new era of astronomical thought. This theory explains that the sun, not the Earth, is the center of the solar system and planets move in a circular motion around it. This had many social, intellectual and religious made of huis idea. For instance, this theory brought into question the strict reading of the Bible and philosophies of the Catholic Church.

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

Although Copernicus’ theory was against the Catholic Church, some parts of it were still based on the beliefs of the Catholic Church. Part of his heliocentric model was that the Earth rotated from west to east in a perfect circle. Why from west to east? Copernicus believed this because simply it was commanded by God. Why a perfect circle? Copernicus shared this concept with many other astronomers. Astronomers believed that since God is perfect he made the planets orbit in a perfect shape, circle. This concept was later on corrected by Johannes Kepler, who was also very religious and he stated that the planets orbit in a perfect ellipse.

Galileo Galilei was also a supporter of the Copernican Theory. Galileo believed the earth, and other planets, rotated on its axis around the unmoving sun. He used his new invention of the telescope to prove Copernicus’ theory. With the telescope, Galileo found sunspots on the earth’s moon, which gave proof to him that the heavens were not perfect and changeless but were more like the changeable earth. iv He also discovered Jupiter and the four moons that revolved around it. He only discovered one moon revolving around the earth. Galileo therefore stated if Jupiter were to revolve around the earth, then the earth would have to have at least four moons, and it doesn’t. v The Church objected Galileo’s theory because the Bible said the sun moved through the sky. Being totally rejected by the church, Galileo was forced to take back what he had written and was also prevented from any further teachings of his theory. Galileo was condemned by the Catholic Church for his ideas. The Church succeeded in silencing Galileo but couldn’t stop the advancements in science.

Thought history scientists’ finding have been ignored, only to be discovered that their information was beneficial. In the 1600s and 1700s, many astronomers and mechanics were focused on finding a way to find the longitude of a ship’s position at sea. John Harrison, a self-taught carpenter and clockmaker was able to create a solution, but no one with enough power to enforce his studies would listen to his ideas. Similar to this, when Nicolaus Copernicus discovered that the earth revolved around the sun, no one believed him because the belief at the time was that the earth was the center of the universe. Despite no one appreciating what the two had discovered, several years after they had died, their theories surfaced again and people began

did not follow Aristotle's requirement for the uniform circular motion of planets. Copernicus then thought

During the 16th century, Nicolaus Copernicus was a very influential astronomer, whom Galileo Galilei, an aspiring scientist in that field, admired and studied diligently. Copernicus theorized that the Earth rotated around the sun, also known as the heliocentric theory (Paolucci and Brophy). This was in contrast to the Ptolemaic theory (and Catholic doctrine) that everything else in our galaxy pivoted around the Earth. Galileo spent his life attempting to prove the Copernican Theory.

(Doc C) “He developed a theory of the universe that was adopted by most scholars during the Middle Ages” That theory was called the Geocentric Universe, which is a model that states the Earth is in the middle of the solar system and the sun orbits around it. Shortly after that time period A Polish astronomer named Copernicus “relying on mathematics and observations, he developed a new understanding of the universe” Called the Heliocentric Universe, which states the sun is in the middle of the solar system and the earth orbit it. With newer evidence it was easy to prove that Copernicus was true and till this day this is the model we all adapt to and

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

Nicolaus Copernicus was an astronomer and mathematician who felt that this theory of Ptolemaic was too complex and was unsuccessful in capturing the "motions of the heavenly bodies" (Spielvogel 480). He believes that his idea of heliocentric was straightforward and had a more scientific description. Copernicus's notion believed that the universe was composed of eight spheres with the sun fixed at the center.

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.