Nicolaus Copernicus Research Paper

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

Among these people were Copernicus who believed the sun was at the center of the world and the earth, stars and planets revolved around it. Danish astronomer Brahe helped contribute to this idea by contributing a large mass of data about the universe that he was able to discover. His student Kepler kept his ideas going, as he formulated many laws of planetary motion. He said the orbits around the sun were elliptical, planets don’t move in a uniform speed and the time a planet completes its orbit is related to its distance from the sun. Meanwhile, Florentine Galileo decided to use experiments to find out what happened and not what should happen, and discovered that a uniform force makes a uniform acceleration as well as inertia laws, that an object will be in motion forever unless stopped by another force.

The Scientific Revolution changed society with the birth of “modern science”; it changed the way people thought about the physical world around them. The same spirit of inquiry that fueled the Renaissance, led scientists to question traditional beliefs about the workings of the universe. The conflict all began with Copernicus’ heliocentric model being introduced to the world- going against the Church’s traditional teachings. Nicolaus Copernicus developed the heliocentric model of the universe- stating that the sun is the center, and that other planets revolve around it. Despite his calculations, people disagreed and kept on believing in Ptolemy’s geocentric model.

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.

To begin with, Nicolaus Copernicus’ journey to astronomy began around the 1480’s when his father had passed away and Copernicus uncle, Lucas Watzenrode, took a paternal role for him. Lucas ensured that Copernicus would receive the best education. By 1491, Copernicus entered the University

During the 1500s, scientific ideas were primarily based on ancient and medieval ideas. Earlier ideas about the universe were based on Aristotle’s principles, which postulated that the earth was stationary and was at the center of the universe. Later Copernicus overturned the medieval idea of the universe by postulating that the earth revolved around the sun. Scholars like Brahe, Galileo refined the Copernicus model by experimenting and collecting evidence. Even though there were several fundamental breakthroughs by Galileo and other scientists, the new findings failed to explain the forces that controlled the movement of the planets and falling of objects on Earth, and Sir Isaac Newton challenged to solve this ambiguity.

Nicholas Copernicus was the first to question the universal truths and teachings of the church. He devised a theory that the earth along with the other planets revolved around the sun. This theory disagreed with Aristotle and the old teachings that the universe revolved around the earth, and that man was the center of the universe.

Galileo’s ambition pushed him to go further, and in the fall of 1609 he made the fateful decision to turn his telescope toward the heavens. Using his telescope to explore the universe, Galileo observed the moon and found Venus had phases like the moon, proving it rotated around the sun, which refuted the Aristotelian doctrine that the Earth was the center of the universe. He also discovered Jupiter had revolving moons that didn’t revolve around planet Earth. In 1613, he published his observations of sunspots, which also refuted Aristotelian doctrine that the sun was perfect.

First off, the two men worked in different fields of science. John Harrison worked in geography and Copernicus worked in astronomy. Geography is the study of land and the relationships between the land and the communities living in the area. If one studies geography, they also study the physical properties of the land and how the people and animals use the land. Astronomy is the study of astronomic objects, space and the physical universe. Besides this difference, Harrison had an immediate successor to continue pressing the ideas of using clocks to solve the longitude issue. Copernicus, on the other hand, had no one to help him continue his work once he had died; no one wanted to be associated with his work because the Church had renounced it. Both men faced struggles during their scientific career, but Harrison’s work was able to continue to grow while Copernicus’s work came to a halt for several

Up until the sixteenth century everyone thought that the earth was the center of the universe. People also thought that the sun, stars and other planets simply orbited

Galileo was born in Florence, Italy in 1564 to a poor family but among their people they were considered quite noble. His parents realized that Galileo possessed pronounced intellectual gifts. They made great sacrifices to give Galileo the education that he deserved. At the University of Pisa he studied medicine to grant his father’s wishes, while there he became interested in a wide range of other subjects. Even as a student at the University of Pisa he questioned many of Aristotle’s teachings, therefor, when he began to teach there himself he was left isolated from his fellow professor. Galileo worked at the University of Pisa for three years before he resigned and began his teachings as a math professor at the University of Padua. At that university he was a well-loved professor who attracted large

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

Nicolaus Copernicus was born in Poland on February 19th, 1473. His father was names Niklas and his mother was Barbara. He completed high school in his hometown, which is Thorn, at

The Copernican Revolution involves the exchange of a “geocentric” worldview to a “heliocentric” view and is inseparably linked to the “scientific revolution” of the seventeenth century movement that represents a renewal of all scientific knowledge of the time. Contrary to popular belief, the “idea that the Earth was round” was written by many ancient Greek texts, and was supported by many philosophers such as Aristotle, Plato, Pythagoras, Archimedes, Eratosthenes and Ptolemy, among others. (Cohen, 30) During the