Nicolaus Copernicus is an important figure in modern
astronomy. When Copernicus was born, people believed in the Ptolemaic system. According to
Ptolemy, the Earth was the center of the universe. The Sun and the other planets orbited
the Earth. Copernicus didn’t agree with this thought.
Ptolemy’s book, Almagest, was the early
reference book for astronomy. Copernicus used this book to study the stars. He tried to
map the stars’ positions. He found that they were different from
Ptolemy’s book.
During his life, Copernicus studied in many places.
He studied at the University of Cracow, the University of Bologna, and in Rome. He always
questioned the teachings of the current times. Part of his life, he worked for the Roman
Catholic Church. This meant it was dangerous to disagree with the Church’s teachings
that the Earth was the center of the universe.
After much thought, Copernicus put together a new
map of the solar system. In his map, he put the Sun in the center. All the planets orbited
the Sun. The only object that orbited the Earth was the Moon. Copernicus recorded his
theory in a writing called Commentariolus. Very few astronomers read this work. In
1543, the year he died, he published his famous work called De Revolutionibus Orbium
Caelestium. This book contained his theory and his observations of the sky for thirty
years. The Roman Catholic Church banned the book. Later his ideas were accepted as true.
In 1972, the United States launched a satellite with
a telescope. They honored Copernicus by naming the satellite after him.
Copernicus helped expand our knowledge of the
Universe. He was an important astronomer and scientist.
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