Commonly known by his Latin name, Nicholas Copernicus, Mikolaj Kopernik is regarded as "The Father of Astronomy".
Nicholas Copernicus, born February 19, 1473, was the first astronomer to formulate a scientifically based heliocentric cosmology that displaced the Earth from the center of the universe. While a student at the University of Kraków, he discovered several logical contradictions in the existing astronomical system taught at that time, which put the earth at the center of the universe. Later when studying medicine and religious law at Bologna University, Kopernik pursued further investigations of the movements of celestial bodies, especially the moon. His direct observations, coupled with research based on various Greek and Latin astronomical writings, prompted him to originate the Copernican system of the structure of the universe. This theory placed the sun at the center of the solar system and the earth in orbit around it. Kopernik's most famous written work, De Revolutionibus, which laid the foundation for modern astronomy, was completed in 1530, after fifteen years of painstaking observations and calculations, often with instruments of the astronomer's own making. Although deeply convinced of the truth of his heliocentric system, Kopernik did not actively seek to publish this work because of its controversial nature. He did, however, manage to catch a dimmed glance at the first printed copy moments before his death on May 24, 1543.
Commonly known by his Latin name, Nicholas Copernicus, Mikolaj Kopernik is regarded as "The Father of Astronomy".
Nicholas Copernicus, born February 19, 1473, was the first astronomer to formulate a scientifically based heliocentric cosmology that displaced the Earth from the center of the universe. While a student at the University of Kraków, he discovered several logical contradictions in the existing astronomical system taught at that time, which put the earth at the center of the universe. Later when studying medicine and religious law at Bologna University, Kopernik pursued further investigations of the movements of celestial bodies, especially the moon. His direct observations, coupled with research based on various Greek and Latin astronomical writings, prompted him to originate the Copernican system of the structure of the universe. This theory placed the sun at the center of the solar system and the earth in orbit around it. Kopernik's most famous written work, De Revolutionibus, which laid the foundation for modern astronomy, was completed in 1530, after fifteen years of painstaking observations and calculations, often with instruments of the astronomer's own making. Although deeply convinced of the truth of his heliocentric system, Kopernik did not actively seek to publish this work because of its controversial nature. He did, however, manage to catch a dimmed glance at the first printed copy moments before his death on May 24, 1543.