నికోలస్ కోపర్నికస్ జీవిత చరిత్ర
Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 –
24 May 1543) was a Renaissance-era mathematician and astronomer who formulated
a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than the Earth at the center
of the universe, in all likelihood independently of Aristarchus of Samos, who
had formulated such a model some eighteen centuries earlier. His book, De
revolutionibus orbium coelestium, is often thought of as the most important
book ever published in the field of astronomy. The ensuing explosion or
research, observation, analysis, and science that followed its publication is
referred to as the Copernican Revolution.
Early Life
Nicolaus Copernicus was born on 19
February 1473 in the Polish town of Torun. His father was a rich merchant and
Nicolaus was one of 4 children. (He had 1 brother and 2 sisters). In 1491
Copernicus went to the University of Cracow. He left there about 1495. In 1496
he went to the University of Bologna to study law. By then Copernicus had
become interested in astronomy. Copernicus left Bologna in 1501. He then
studied medicine at the University of Padua. From 1503 to 1510 he worked as a
secretary and physician to his uncle who was a bishop. Meanwhile he continued
to study astronomy.
His Theory
An ancient Greek called Aristarchus (c
310-230 BC) correctly realized that the Earth orbits the Sun. Unfortunately,
his ideas were rejected and people came to believe that the Earth is the center
of the universe. They believed that the Moon, the Sun and the other planets
orbit the Earth. Copernicus realized that this is not so. The Sun is the center
of the Solar System and the Earth and the other planets orbit it. This is
called the Heliocentric system from the Greek word for Sun, Helios. (The older
theory that the Earth is the center is called the Ptolemaic System after a
Roman astronomer named Ptolemy (c 87-170 AD). Copernicus also realized that the
Earth spins on its axis. The axis is tilted. That accounts for the seasons.
However, the theory that the Earth is
the center of the Universe raised an awkward question. Aristotle taught that
objects fall to the Earth because it is at the center of the Universe and it is
natural for them to fall towards the center. If Copernicus was right then what
caused objects to fall to the Earth? (Remember this was long before the theory
of gravity). Furthermore, if the Heliocentric theory was true then the Earth
was just another planet, part of the Heavens. But people believed the Heavens
were constant and unchanging. How could the Earth be part of the Heavens when
it was constantly changing? If Copernicus was correct, it called people's other
beliefs about the world into question.
Copernicus worked out his new theory and
wrote a manuscript but he only circulated it among close friends. He needed to
make many mathematical calculations before he could publish his new theory. Finally,
by 1540 he was ready. The theory was published in 1543. The book was called On
the Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies. It was dedicated to Pope Paul III.
Shortly afterwards on 24 may 1543
Copernicus died. However, after his death Copernicus became famous throughout
Europe. Yet it was a long time before the Copernican Heliocentric theory was
widely accepted. In 1588 Tycho Brahe put forward an alternative system in which
the other planets orbited the Sun and the Sun in turn orbited the Earth. Yet by
the middle of the 17th century the Copernican theory was generally accepted.
The End
Nicolaus Copernicus died at the age of
70, on May 24, 1543 of a stroke. He had not married and had no children. He had
devoted his life to science, the church, and government.
He was buried in Frombork Cathedral,
Poland, where he had been Canon. His grave was lost for centuries, but found
again in 2005. In 2010 his remains were reburied in Frombork Cathedral in the
same spot as they were discovered. His new tombstone shows a golden sun with
six planets orbiting it.
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