Nicolaus Copernicus

Why Is He So Important?

Copernicus is responsible for spreading the theory that the Earth revolves around the Sun, not the other way around.

Heliocentric model – the Sun is the center of the Universe

Helped to start modern astronomy and the Copernican Revolution

Early Life of Copernicus

Born February 19, 1473 in Royal Prussia, Kingdom of Poland

Father – copper merchantMother – daughter of wealthy merchantYoungest of 4 childrenMother died when he was a young boyFather died between 1483 and 1485

Uncle Lucas Watzenrode raised and saw to education of Nicolaus

Education

Sent to St. John’s as a boyCathedral School to prep for admission to

University of KrakowUniversity of Krakow

Astronomical-mathematical school Arithmetic, geometry, geometric optics, cosmography,

computational astronomy Built foundation for later success Left before he attained his degree

College Degree

Copernicus jumped around different universities in Italy

Padua University – studied medicine, Greek, and mathematical science

Received degree in Canon Law at University of Ferrara

Languages

Latin, Polish, German, Greek, ItalianLatin was the language of academia and the

Roman Catholic Church

Employment

Copernicus practiced medicine, though that was not his main job

He was a religious canon (personal secretary and physician) and later administer of economic affairs in a cathedral run by his uncle – now the Bishop of Olsztyn

Helped his uncle in political matters

Hobbies?

Economics Studied value of money, who had right to print Wrote Monetae cudendae ratio

He never worked as a professional astronomer

Astronomy was his hobby for spare time Before 1514, Copernicus wrote initial ideas of

heliocentric theory, Commetarioulus General theory with no math to support it Did not publish, just sent to few colleagues

Poetry Printed 85 poems called the Epistles Letters between characters of a story Three types: moral, pastoral, and amourous

Astronomy

Though never his job, he intensely pursued astronomy

Intensive observations of Mars, Saturn and the Sun

1532, he completed his work De revolutionibus orbium coelestium

(On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres)

Heliocentric Cosmology

Displaced Earth from center of Universe

Sun is center and Earth revolves around it

Solved issue of planetary retrograde motion (only perceived, not real)

Problem with Theory

Believed in “celestial spheres”No direct observational evidence to lead to

replacement of Ptolomy’s theory

Death of Copernicus

Died in Frauenburg (Frombork) May 24, 1543

Legend – first printed copy of De revolutionibus put in his hands the day he died Awoken from a coma induced by stroke Looked at his book Died in peace

Grave located in Frombork cathedral

Skepticism

After his death, lectures were given about his theory and Pope Clement VII and catholic cardinals were interested

His persecution came from Protestant Church and Martin Luther

Theory found implausible by majority of his contemporaries and most astronomers and natural philospophers until the mid 17th century

Copernican Revolution

Major shift from Ptolmaic model to heliocentric model

Took about 200 years for this to take placeStarting point of Scientific Revolution of 16th

Century

Supporters

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)Sir Isaac Newton’s Theory of Universala

Gravitation (1687)