Science
Nicolaus Copernicus
Astronomer and heliocentric-system author
Also known as Mikołaj Kopernik · Nicholas Copernicus
Later depiction · Image credit
Who they are
Nicolaus Copernicus set out a planetary system in which Earth moved around the Sun in De revolutionibus, published in 1543. Book I presents the ordering of the planets and the reasoning behind Earth’s motions. His place in this timeline is a transformation in astronomical model building and humanity’s description of its position in the cosmos.
He supplies a primary-text milestone in changing models of the Solar System.
Selected contributions
- Presented Earth’s annual orbit and the ordering of the planets around the Sun.Source ↗
Selected works
Book · 1543
De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions)
Copernicus places Earth among the moving planets and organizes planetary motions around the Sun. The linked selections include prefatory material and parts of the astronomical argument, allowing readers to distinguish the author’s text from Osiander’s added foreword.
Original work published in 1543; the linked Edward Rosen translation contains prefatory material, Book I selections and later passages. It is not a complete book or six-book edition.
Reading scope & citation
Fresh Osiander foreword read; previously inspected Book I passages reused. Reuses documented prior inspection: HTML downloaded and relevant translated primary sections inspected. This was not a review of all six books or numerical tables. Reuses the input’s documented prior inspection: HTML downloaded and relevant translated primary sections inspected. This was not a review of all six books or numerical tables. No fresh full-work reread in this directory pass. Reused prior inspected evidence: HTML downloaded and relevant translated primary sections inspected. This was not a review of all six books or numerical tables. Final access audit inspected the selection’s headings and discontinuous chapter sequence.
In the timeline
Biography sources & portrait credit
- On the Revolutions, Book I ↗Johns Hopkins University Press translation reproduced in Dartmouth's mathematics-across-the-curriculum reader
Portrait credit
Unknown artist. Public domain (Commons file-specific copyright declaration). Via Wikimedia Commons.
Later depiction. Cropped to 4:5, resized to 320 × 400 and converted to WebP.
Image source & identification ↗ · Public domain (Commons file-specific copyright declaration) ↗
