COPERNICUS, NICOLAS (MIKOLAJ KOPERNIK),(1473-1543),
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Polish astronomer , propounded Copernican theory which revolutionized planetary astronomy and laid the foundation stone for modern developments. He was born on feb.14, 1473 at Torun on the Vistula River where his father was a merchant of some social standing. in 1491 Copernicus went to the university of Cracow. There he came under the influence of the mathematician Wojciech Brudzewski (1445-97), a supporter of the geocentric system of Ptolemy, who is believed to have awakened his genius. Copernicus probably returned home in 1494, and his maternal uncle Lucas waczenrode, elected bishop of Ermeland (Warmia) the same year, wished to confer on his nephew a canonry of frauenburg (frombork). He thus sent him for further training in Italy and in 1497 Copernicus became a student at the Natio Germinorum at Bologna. For three and a half years he studied Greek, became acquainted with the writing of Plato, and in due course was closely associated as friend and assistant with the astronomer Domenico Novarra of Ferrara91454-1504) in spite of their disparity of age. Copernicus was thus encouraged to observe the heavens and his first recorded observation (an occultation of Aldebaran) was made on March 9, 1497. Copernicus went to Rome in the spring of 1500, the year of the great jubilee, and there he gave a course of lectures in mathematics. He had been elected (by proxy) a canon of Frauenburg in 1497 and in 1501 he returned to take his seat on the cathedral chapter. These years saw him return again to Italy, under special leave of absence, to continue his studies. He entered the university of Padua where, enrolled in the register of polish student he studied both law and medicine and except for a short break in 1503 when he was granted the degree of doctor of canon law at Ferrara on may 31, spent almost four years in padua. Copernicus returned to Poland in 1503 and, after his stay in both Bologna and Padua, can be said to have been in possession of all the knowledge of the day in mathematics, astronomy, medicine and theology. On his return he revisited Cracow and later acted as adviser to his uncle, the powerful bishop of Ermeland, until the latter’s death in 1512. Copernicus remained at frauenburg acting as representative of the cathedral chapter, his medical skill being used especially for the poor. His fame as an earnest student of astronomy spread and in 1514 he was invited to give his opinion on reform of the calendar, which was then being considered, by the lateran council, but he refused to express any firm views for he was of the opinion that the positions of the sun and moon were not known with sufficient accuracy to permit of proper reassessment of the position.
Soon after his return from Italy, Copernicus appears to have planned a program of astronomical work. Although he carried out no extensive program for observation, he made such measurements as would enable him to redetermine the elements of the orbits of the Sun, Moon and planets. He published 27 such observations made over the years 1497-1529 and a few others have been found entered in books from his private library.
After settling in Frauenburg Copernicus became increasingly dissatisfied with Ptolemaic systems of astronomy. He was not alone in this dissatisfaction; indeed he himself said that the many divergent views prevalent in his day gave him cause for profound thought. These difficulties had arisen as the accumulated observation on the position of the Sun, Moon and planets had made it necessary to elaborate the arrangements of deferents and epicycles, which the Ptolemaic systems contained. It was therefore an increasingly laborious task to compute the future positions of these bodies and, of course, much of the elegance of the Ptolemaic hypothesis was lost. Ptolemy’s system contained not only some original work but also a synthesis of the views of previous Greek philosophers and was based on a purely geocentric basis. By the 16th century this geocentric idea had become not only firmly entrenched in astronomical thought but also had the virtual standing of an article of faith. Although certain Greek philosophers had, as far back as the third century B.C, suggested that the Sun and not the Earth was the center of the Universe, their ideas had not been developed. However Copernicus concluded that, in view of the plethora of epicycles necessitated by the Ptolemaic system so that it might still account for the observed motions of heavenly bodies, it must contain some basic error. In consequence he read many original Greek authors and discovered that heliocentric hypothesis had been suggested. The idea of a moving Earth seemed absurd at first but when Copernicus used this assumption he found that a much simpler and aesthetically superior system resulted even though, as might be expected, he still believed that the planets moved with uniform circular motion. After many years of labour he became convinced of the truth of his new idea, but made no attempt to publish them. It was only the efforts of his friends and, more particularly, those of his pupil and disciple George Joachim Rhäticus (1514-76), who studied with him for two years, which finally resulted in the publication in 1543 of the great De revolutionibus orbium coelestium. Although not widely accepted at once, the heliocentric views of Copernicus, as expounded in this work, in due course exerted a vital influence on astronomy. Thomas Digges (? -1595) appears to have been the first English supporter of the Copernican teachings, and the work of Kepler and Galileo helped, of course, to bring general acceptance.
However in 1530 Copernicus circulated a manuscript, the Commentariolus. This was, in effect, a summary of his idea but it contained no diagrams or calculations. Lectures on the principles which the manuscript expounded were given in Rome by Johann Albrecht Widmanstadt, Pope Clement VII approved and a formal demand for publication was made. In 1540 Rhäticus, who himself had published an exposition entitled Narratio prima de libris revolutionum, was permitted to take the complete manuscript to Nürnberg for printing. Because of opposition from Luther, Melanchthon and others, Rhäticus left Nürnberg and went to Leipzig. He passed on the task of publication to Johannes Schöner and Andreas Osiander. The latter corresponded with Copernicus but, apparently fearing severe criticism of views, which considered the Earth as having an annual motion around a stationary Sun, Osiander inserted on his own responsibility a preface that emphasizes that the heliocentric hypothesis was only a convenient means for simplifying planetary computation. A careful examination of the text makes it clear, however, that Copernicus himself really believed that the heliocentric theory, which originally he had viewed with disfavour, was a true picture of the system of the Sun, the Earth followed with the Moon circling around it, then came the orbits of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn with the sphere of fixed stars outside. The De revolutionibus was written in six sections or books, the first proving that the Earth is spherical and moving as well as containing some remarks on spherical trigonometry and catalogue of stars. In the second the ecliptic is discussed; the third deals with precession and the apparent motion of the Sun. the fourth book concerns the Moon and in the fifth and sixth the planets are discussed. The whole work was not completed until 1543 and is believed to have been brought to Copernicus on his deathbed. Copernicus died at Frauenberge on May 24, 1543.
Copernicus also published, in 1509, a Latin version of Greek epistles by Theophylact (fl A.D. 610-629), and an exposition of principles of currency reform for certain polish provinces was written in 1525 but not published until 1816 at Warsaw.
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