Growing doubts Nicolaus Copernicus studied astronomy, mathematics, law, and medicine. He worked in an administrative position in a church in Frauenburg, Poland, where he also pursued his interest in ASTRONOMY. Copernicus began to question the established theory that stated Earth was stationary at the centre of the Universe with the Moon, Sun, and planets moving around it in circular paths. rth at This illustration shows Ea e – a the centre of the Univers ed view that was first develop by the Greeks.
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tl h coun ernicus g u o r h T op tions, C ay we look a l u c l a c d the w tem, change e Solar Sys ns for at th e foundatio rs. e th laying re astronom u t fu o
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Copernicus put the Sun in the middle of his model of the Universe.
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Sun-centred system By 1530, Copernicus finished his book, The Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres. His main theory was that the planets – including Earth – revolved around the Sun. Copernicus was CORRECT, but because this contradicted the church’s belief that Earth was at the centre of the Universe, he did not release his book until a few months before his death.
Nicolaus Copernicus
The astronomer who REWROTE the rules of the Universe by placing the Sun at its centre 77
