The Scientific Revolutions and Copernicus' Book

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The Scientific Revolutions and Copernicus' Book

In the sixteenth and seventeenth century a Scientific Revolution swept over Europe. The start of this Scientific Revolution has been atributed to Nicolaus Copernicus and his Heliocentric Model of the Universe.

Copernicus was born in Torun Poland on February 19, 1473. His parents both died when he was very young so he was sent to live with his uncle who was a high ranking official in the Church. Copernicus studied canon law, medicine, astronomy, Greek, philosophy, and mathematics. His diversified fields of study led him to hold the positions of physician, teacher, member of parliament, and canon law expert for the Church. At the age of twenty Copernicus left Poland for Italy for the purposes of schooling and work. Copernicus released his theory of a sun centered universe in his book "On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres" which was published in 1543. This is the same year in which he died at the age of 70. Copernicus waited to release his book until on his deathbed because he feared reprisal from the Church and his peers. Copernicus said he "saw his completed work only at his last breath apon the day that he died." Before Copernicus the world believed in the Ptolemaic model of the universe. Ptolemy was a Greek astronomer who developed his model in 150 A.D. This model held that the Earth was at the center of the universe and that all of the planets, moons, and stars rotated around the Earth in different spheres. It also said that everything in space was made up of "perfect" material that was unchangeable. Ptolemy based his model on the teachings of Aristotle.

He released his theory in the book "The Mathematical Collection." For over 800 years the Ptolemaic model of the ...

... middle of paper ...

...tter than other planets.

We do not sense the motion of our own planet therefore from our vantage point it appears as if the other planets are moving backwards. This process is known as retrograde motion. Retrograde motion explains why the brightness of planets vary. It also explains why some planets appear to move faster than others.

Bibliography

- Donald Kagan, Ozment, and Turner. "THe Western HertiageBrief Edition: Vol. 2 Since

1648." Prentice Hall. NJ. 1996 (330-331)

- http://www.cvnet/Ftpsites/starfinders/articles/ecu.htm

- http://www.gco.org.au/st6/6-4945md.jpg

- http://www.gco.org.au/index.html

- http://csep10phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/retrograde/copernican.html

- http://ceps.nasm.edu:2020/RPIF/IMG/EARTH/earth.gif

- http://ceps.nasm.edu:2020/RPIF/IMG/EARTH/earthrise.gif

- http://www.isomedia.com/homes/cuedeler/astroks.htm

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