Nicolaus Copernicus Inventions, Biography and Facts

Nicolaus was a Polish astronomer born on 19th February 1473 in Thorn city of Royal Prussia. It was a German-speaking state, and a Polish king ruled it. His father was a well-do-to merchant, and his name was Niklas Koppernigk. His mother’s name was Barbara Koppernigk. 

Nicolaus was a clever man. Since he was a polymath. It is because he was a mathematician, priest, jurist, astronomer, astrologer, classical scholar, administrator, governor, economist, diplomat and soldier. Out of all these, his favourite hobby of all time was astronomy. He has the famous research on heliocentrism registered in his name. In the 1500s, he proposed the Nicolaus Copernicus theory stating that the sun is the centre of the solar system, and planets revolve around the Sun. It was a very controversial theory as people in those days staunchly believed that the Earth is in the centre. This invention was huge out of all Nicolaus Copernicus inventions. Let us find out more about this great personality!

Education 

• His father died when Nicolaus was very young, and hence his uncle took him under his protection.
• Nicolaus was a clever man. Between 1491 and 1494, he studied liberal arts at the University of Cracow, including astrology and astronomy. But he left the course in between.
• He then continued his education at the University of Bologna, Italy. His uncle had studied at this college. His uncle wanted Nicolaus to study the laws and regulations of the Catholic Church. So that when he returns post-degree, he can become a canon (official in the Catholic Church).
• Throughout his education in Italy, he kept visiting many educational institutions. He spent time studying astronomy and mathematics at these institutes. 
• When he was studying at the University of Bologna, he stayed and worked in a house with the principal astronomer of his university. His name was Domenico Maria de Novara. Nicolaus and the professor used to research and make observations of the heavens together.
• Post his education in Italy, as his uncle wanted, Copernicus became a canon in the city of Warmia. But he never took orders as a priest. 
• He used to conduct astronomical research in between duty as a canon. 

His Major Achievement: The Copernican Model

• During the time of Copernicus, it was believed that Earth was the centre of the solar system. And all planets, stars and the Sun revolved around the Earth.
• There were some issues with this assumption. On some nights, planets were observed to travel backwards. This was termed retrograde motion.
• In 1514, Copernicus showed his view of the Universe to his friends. He showed them by distributing a handwritten book.
• In his book, he had written that the Sun is the centre of the universe and not the Earth. 
• He also mentioned that Earth’s rotation is responsible for sunrise and sunset. And the seasons are caused by the Earth’s revolution around the Sun.
• He also cleared doubts about the retrograde motion. He said Earth’s motion makes the planet’s movement look retrograde.
• The first manuscript of his book was completed in 1532. The book’s name was ‘De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium’. It means ‘On the revolutions of the heavenly spheres. The book contained the entire Nicolaus Copernicus theory about the solar system, planets and stars.
• However, he published the book in 1543. He died two months after it. He was 70 when he died.
• Since he died, the Church didn’t comment on his book, although they considered the book heretical.
• However, the Church banned the book in 1616.

Facts Related to Copernicus 

Some of the Nicolaus Copernicus facts related to his life and work are:

• Nicholas’s model of the universe had changed the layout of the universe. But it had some faults. According to him, planets revolved in perfect circles. It was established only in the 1600s by Johannes Kepler that planets revolved around the Sun in elliptical orbits.
• We only have 27 recorded observations from the life of Copernicus. These were related to conjunctions of stars and planets, alignments and eclipses. Surely, there might have been many more observations, but they do not exist.
• Reportedly, in 1500 he spoke on mathematical subjects in Rome before an interested audience. But we do not have the content of his lecture.
• Galileo Galilei supported Copernicus’s model of the Universe in 1632. He was under house arrest when he went against the Catholic Church.
• In 2008, a skull was found in Frombork Cathedral and was believed to be of Nicolaus Copernicus. Later, scientists matched his DNA on the skull to his hair found in the books owned by Copernicus once.
• In 2010, Copernicus was reburied. The tombstone on his grave was decorated with a solar system model. The tomb displays his service to the church and his scientific contributions.

Conclusion

We hope this write-up has introduced you to the life of famous astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. By now, you must be familiar with Nicolaus Copernicus inventions, his life, his education, the struggles he faced and how he excelled through all that life had for him. His life is an inspiration to each one of us.