1473 - 1543
Copernicus is regarded the founder of modern astronomy.
He was born in Torunac, Poland. He studied mathematics and optics at Cracow, then canon law at Bologna, before becoming canon of Frombork. Copernicus discovered the mathematically yet unproven heliocentric solar system.
In his treatise, 'On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres' he postulated that the planets, including the earth, revolve around the sun, and that the earth revolved around its axis once every day.
The work had a hostile
reception when it was published (1543), as it challenged the ancient teaching of
the Earth as the centre of the universe.
Image : The Heliocentric System
www link :
The Nature of the Universe
From the University of St. Andrews, Scotland