Copernicus Theory example essay topic

Throughout history people have always looked up at the sky and wondered about the universe. Some just wonder while others attempt to solve this mystery. One of the people who had endeavored to solve it was Nicolaus Copernicus. Copernicus was born in the present day town of To run, Poland in February of 1473.

While still a young boy, Copernicus was put in custody of his uncle when his father died. His uncle made sure that his nephew got the best education they could obtain. This is how Copernicus was able to enter the University of Krakow, which was well known for its mathematics and astronomy programs. After finishing in Krakow, he was inspired to further his education by going to the University of Bologna in Italy.

In 1500, Copernicus lectured in Rome and in the next year, obtained permission to study medicine at Padua. Before returning to Poland, he received a doctorate in canon law from the University of Ferrara. Copernicus lived with his uncle and while he stayed there he published his first book. After that he wrote an astronomical discourse that laid the foundation of his heliocentric theory, the theory that the sun is the center of our solar system.

However, it was 400 years before it was published. After leaving his uncle, he began the work for which he is most famous, On The Revolution of the Celestial Spheres, which took him almost 15 years to write. It is ironic that what he devoted a good part of his life would not be published until he was on his deathbed. To understand the contribution Copernicus made to the astrological community, one first needs to understand the theory that had been accepted at his time.

The question of the arrangement of the planets arose around 4000 BC. At this time the Mesopotamian's believed that the earth was at the center of the universe and that other heavenly bodies moved around the earth. This belief was known as geocentric. They believed this, but they had no scientific proof to support it.

Copernicus disagreed with this theory, believing that there had to be a more simple explanation, requiring that every planet revolved around the sun. Copernicus was not the first one to come up with the idea of a sun-centered, or heliocentric, universe. Copernicus' work on planetary motion stood an a very high mathematical level for his times. His theory explained how all the celestial bodies move around the Sun. It took Nicolaus 30 years of mathematical research to form a theory about planetary motion.

The three most popular instruments which Copernicus used were the quadrant, armilla, and triquetrum. All furnish some measure of the position of the heavenly body. It took an endless amount of mathematical calculations to come up with Copernicus' theory. He had to find out how fast the Earth spins around the Sun, and how far the Sun is.

He also had to calculate the length of the orbit of the Earth. People use math in every day of life. Today, everything is related to math, and Copernicus used his knowledge of mathematics to provide the human kind with an important discovery. Finally, Nicolaus Copernicus had a theory published anonymously that went against Catholic Church authority, a very bold step for someone in that era. The Church relented, and allowed the circulation of the manuscript. The Church firmly believed the Earth was the center of the universe, and as far as the community in that era was concerned, the Church's way of thinking was the correct way of thinking.

The reluctance of the Church to accept any new theories indicated it's long stronghold over the minds of people in science. People feared change, because the consequence for an upset with the Church was never certain, but its outlook was never good. Without the approval of the Church, no progress could be made in the development of mankind. Martin Luther was one of Copernicus' biggest challenges to overcome, trying to prevent Copernicus from giving lectures and teaching his students at local universities.

But, when Luther himself admitted, "It was Joshua who told the Sun, not the Earth to stand still", it showed the world what one man could accomplish. The successful challenge to the entire system of ancient authority required a complete change in man's philosophical conception of the universe. This is what is rightly called "The Copernican Revolution". Nicolaus Copernicus accomplished a great number of things, some we take for granted.

He created an infinite number of possibilities of directions for astronomy to take. He expanded the minds of humans everywhere, and especially those of the Catholic Church. Considered the father of modern astronomy, he completely revolutionized science in the 1500's. What he contributed to astronomy will not be forgotten, and many new ideas will surface because of his radical thinking, making him truly worthy of being "The Father of Modern Astronomy.".