Copernicus Puts the Sun at the Center
Frombork (Frauenburg), Poland (where he wrote the book)
What happened
For a long time people believed Earth sat still at the center of the universe. Working at the cathedral in Frombork, Copernicus argued that Earth and the other planets move around the Sun. His book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres was published in Nuremberg in 1543.
Why it matters
The idea of a Sun-centered universe went back to Aristarchus of Samos in the 3rd century BCE. Copernicus was the first to give it geometrical support, according to Museo Galileo.
What came next
The first edition included an unsigned foreword, written by Andreas Osiander and not by Copernicus, saying the ideas did not have to be true.
Did you know?
The book was illustrated with 142 woodcuts, mostly geometrical diagrams, to explain Copernicus's ideas.
Timeline
- c. 1514Copernicus shares a short handwritten summary of his idea.
- 1543On the Revolutions is published in Nuremberg.