20100805 Nicolaus Copernicus Moving Astronomy Forward (1)

Nicolaus Copernicus: Moving Astronomy Forward

History credits this astronomer with moving the earth

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) changed the world by challenging the common beliefs of his time. He completely altered the way people thought about their world and the universe. Thanks to Copernicus' theories the entire Western world began to shift its perspective from an Earth-centered universe to a sun-centered system. The broadly educated student Copernicus was born into a wealthy merchant family in Poland in 1473. When his father died, 10-year-old Copernicus moved in with his uncle, who later became a Roman Catholic bishop. While raising Copernicus,

his uncle directed both the boy's advancement in the church and his education.

Copernicus began his university studies at the University of Cracow where mathematics, astronomy and astrology sparked his interest. But he left before finishing his degree, as was common at the time, and went to work for the church in Frombork. Then he followed in his uncle's footsteps by studying at the University of Bologna. While there, he lived with

Domenico Maria Novara, the school's chief astronomy professor. Novara was probably the first person Copernicus had ever met who dared to challenge the 1,400-year-old conclusions of that era's paramount astronomer: Ptolemy.