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A remarkable Polish scientist named Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) made a stunning claim that rocked the religious and scientific world:  he asserted that the earth revolved around the sun, not the sun around the earth.  "Finally we shall place the Sun himself at the center of the Universe.  All this is suggested by the systematic procession of events and the harmony of the whole Universe, if only we face the facts, as they say, 'with both eyes open.'"  With that bold declaration, this respected scientist in the Catholic Church began the “Scientific Revolution,” which rejected geocentric (earth-centered) theory of the universe dating back over a thousand years to Ptolemy.

[[Image:Nicholas_copernicus.gif|thumb|left|150px|Nicholas Copernicus]]A remarkable Polish scientist named Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) made a stunning claim that rocked the religious and scientific world:  he asserted that the earth revolved around the sun, not the sun around the earth.  "Finally we shall place the Sun himself at the center of the Universe.  All this is suggested by the systematic procession of events and the harmony of the whole Universe, if only we face the facts, as they say, 'with both eyes open.'"  With that bold declaration, this respected scientist in the Catholic Church began the “Scientific Revolution,” which rejected geocentric (earth-centered) theory of the universe dating back over a thousand years to Ptolemy.

Copernicus worked for years on his book describing his theory, and did not publish it until near the very end of his life.  He entitled it, "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium" ("On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres"), and published it in 1543.  The work was far from perfect:  Copernicus assumed that the planets moved in circular revolutions (they actually revolve in ellipses, though the orbit of the earth is nearly circular), and Copernicus also thought that the sun stood motionless as some kind of stationery temple in the universe.

Copernicus worked for years on his book describing his theory, and did not publish it until near the very end of his life.  He entitled it, "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium" ("On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres"), and published it in 1543.  The work was far from perfect:  Copernicus assumed that the planets moved in circular revolutions (they actually revolve in ellipses, though the orbit of the earth is nearly circular), and Copernicus also thought that the sun stood motionless as some kind of stationery temple in the universe.

[[Image:Copernicus_system.gif|thumb|left|300px|The Copernicus System]]

[[Image:Copernicus_system.gif|thumb|left|300px|The Copernicus System]]