this page honors Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543)
In 1543, Six Books on the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, by Nicholas Copernicus, was published in Nuremberg. Based upon the ideas presented in this masterwork, Copernicus is widely considered to be the father of modern astronomy. From the beginning, his ideas were controversial. From Chapter 10 of Book I:
"All of these statements are difficult and almost inconceivable, being of course opposed to the beliefs of many people. Yet, as we proceed, with God's help I shall make them clearer than sunlight, at any rate to those who are not unacquainted with the science of astronomy."
Copernicus believed that the universe consisted of eight nested spheres. "The first and highest of all is the sphere of the fixed stars, which contain itself and everything, and is therefore immovable. It is unquestionably the place of the universe, to which to motion and position of all the other heavenly bodies are compared. Some people think that it also shifts in some way. A[n] ... explanation of why this appears to be so will be adduced in my discussion of the earth's motion."