Nicolaus+Copernicus

**Nicolaus Copernicus** By: Erin Wright and Kevin Eggert

Sources:

"Copernicus, Nicholaus." Scienceworld. 2007. February 1, 2010. http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Copernicus.html "Copernicues, Nicolaus" Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy 18 Apr. 2005. 1 Feb. 2010.  "Nicholaus Copernicus" The Scientists: Nicolaus Copernicus Feb. 2004. 1 Feb. 2010.  "Nicholas Copernicus." //World History: The Modern Era//. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 1 Feb. 2010. . "Nicholaus Copernicus | Cleric and Astronomer." Lucidcafe. January 4, 2010. February 1, 2010. http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96feb/copernicus.html

Video Source:

"Ptolemaic vs. Copernican Model." February 11, 2007. February 1, 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyQ8Tb85HrU&feature=related (This video just shows a short simulation of the geocentric vs. heliocentric models.)

Research:


 * //De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium// (The Revolutions of Heavenly Bodies or On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres)
 * Published in 1543, banned by the Catholic Church from 1615 to 1835
 * Nicolaus is said to have just received a copy of his book before he died on May 24, 1543
 * Attended University of Krakow, University of Padua, University of Bologna (Canon Law), University of Padua (Medicine, Greek Language, Mathematical Sciences)
 * Was never a professional astronomer, made observations during his free time while working in a cathedral as a canon, under his uncle, The Bishop of Olsztyn
 * Aristarchus had proposed the same idea during the 3rd century BC
 * Never received his master's degree
 * //Commentariolus (//introduced his new ideas such as on the heliocentric universe)

Questions:

1. Where did he gain success? //He gained success while at Bologna university he studied humanism which allowed him to study humans. He knew Greek which allowed him to study astronomical works by Greek astronomers. Studying medicine allowed him to also study astrology which helped him learn more about the planets and the Sun.// 2. What did he do? //He stated that the sphere of the suns is followed by the planets and each planet had its own amount of time to make the full revolution. He also gave a point that the Earth is only the center of gravity and center of the moon's orbit. All planets in our solar system orbit the Sun which is close to the universe and the universe is a lot larger than we thought. He also stated that the Sun was at the center of the universe and the Earth revolved around it.// 3. What did he believe? //He believed that the sun was the center of the solar system, not the earth, and that all of the planets revolved around it in circular orbits.// 4. Why was he important? //He was important because he caused a scientific revolution, controversy with the Catholic Church, and because he was right. He described the daily rotation of the earth, annual rotation around the sun, and the tilt of the earth's axis. However, he did believe that the planets all revolved in circular orbits. Today we know they revolve is elliptical orbits. His model was only accepted during the 17th century, although it had been supported by Galileo.// 5. What was his impact on society? //He changed an entire way of scientific thinking and was the starting point to the work of Brahe, Newton, and Kepler.//