AH - Nicolas Copernicus LESSON

Nicolas Copernicus

Nicolas Copernicus was born in Poland in 1473. Throughout his life, he studied mathematics, medicine, and astronomy. He often questioned the beliefs of astronomy during his day and age. Most astronomers during this time believed the Greek theory proposed by Ptolemy that the earth was motionless in the center of the universe and all other objects revolved around it. However, Copernicus believed the Sun was the center of the universe and that earth and other planets revolved around it. The "Sun-centered" universe concept is known as heliocentric while the "Earth-centered" universe concept is known as geocentric.
Even though Copernicus's observations were done with the naked eye, he was still able to conclude that every planet revolves around the Sun, Earth rotates on an axis, and this motion affects how people see objects in space. Most of his observations were not able to be proven until the 1600's.

 Use the Heliocentric vs Geocentric simulation as a means of review before continuing on in the training program.

Later on in the 1600's, Galileo Galilei made many observations in physics that helped to prove the theories of a heliocentric universe that was proposed by Copernicus. Galileo's invention of the telescope also helped prove many theories first proposed by Copernicus. Galileo also observed the following through the use of his telescope:

• Irregular and rough body of the moon
• Many stars make up the Milky Way Galaxy
• Jupiter has four moons
• Discovery of sunspots and other planets

Even though Galileo had the science and math to prove these theories, it would still be centuries before it was accepted as fact.

[CC BY 4.0] UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED | IMAGES: LICENSED AND USED ACCORDING TO TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION