This 1888 engraving – Empedocles Breaks through the Crystal Spheres – is reminiscent of the revolution in thought brought about by Nicolaus Copernicus, who was born 550 years ago today. The engraving first appeared in a book by Camille Flammarion with the caption: “A missionary of the Middle Ages tells that he had found the point where the sky and the Earth touch.” Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Happy 550th birthday, Nicolaus Copernicus!
Renaissance astronomer and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus was born in Torun, Poland, 550 years ago today. At a time when deeply entrenched beliefs placed the Earth at the center of the universe – nested within crystal spheres – he proposed the revolutionary idea that Earth revolves around the sun. Can you picture the leap of imagination required for him to conceive of a sun-centered universe?
Copernicus’ famous book – “De revolutionibus orbium coelestium” (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres) – was published just before his death in 1543. It set the stage for all of modern astronomy.
Nicolaus Copernicus – born on February 19, 1473 – started the scientific revolution with his novel ideas. Image via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).
Ancient Greek views of the universe
Copernicus wasn’t the first to conceive of a sun-centered universe. Early Greek and Mesopotamian philosophers also spoke of it.
It was the Greek philosopher Aristotle, however, who proposed that the heavens comprised 55 concentric, crystalline spheres. He said that celestial objects attached to these spheres.
In Aristotle’s model, Earth lay at the center of these spheres.
So, Earth lay – fixed and enclosed – until Copernicus published his version of a heliocentric, or sun-centered, universe. Copernicus’s ideas and ground-shaking book moved the Earth and replaced it with the sun.
Our Editor-in-Chief Deborah Byrd works to keep all the astronomy balls in the air between EarthSky's website, YouTube page and social media platforms. She's the primary editor of our popular daily newsletter and a frequent host of EarthSky livestreams. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
Like what you read? Subscribe and receive daily news delivered to your inbox.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.